Superconductivity of MgB2 thin films prepared by ion implantation and pulsed plasma treatment

The experiments to synthesize thin MgB2 inter-metallic compound with the use of ion implantation and plasma pulse treatment are presented. Mg was implanted with 3×1018 cm−2 of 80 keV and 5×1018 cm−2 of 100 keV B+ ions and next treated with hydrogen and argon plasma pulses of duration of about 1 μs and fluence between 2 and 4 J/cm2. Superconducting properties were examined by magnetically modulated microwave absorption (MMMA), magnetic moment and electrical conductivity measurements. The structural properties of the implanted and pulse-treated samples were examined by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) methods. The main result consists in observation of MMMA hysteresis loop demonstrating the existence of superconducting regions with Tc as high as 32 K. However, the zero-resistance effect has not been obtained due to incomplete global connectivity between the superconducting regions.