INFN/LNL, Legnaro (PD), Italy
UniNa, Napoli, Italy
Niobium thin film sputtered copper cavities are strongly limited for the application in high field accelerators by the unsolved “Q-slope” problem. In the present paper, we examine the different contributions of the niobium film, the copper substrate, the Helium-Copper interface and the Niobium-Copper Interface, proposing the hypothesis that main cause of losses is due to an enhanced thermal boundary resistance RNb/Cu at the Nb/Cu interface, due to poor thermal contact between film and substrate. So, starting from different Q vs Eacc experimental curves from different sources, and using a typical “inverse problem” method, we deduced the corresponding distribution functions generating those curves. Assuming that only a small fraction of the film over the cavity surface is in poor thermal contact with the substrate (or even partially detached), due to bad adhesion problems, we propose as a possible solution of the problem, the possibility to use higher temperatures of deposition and the adoption at the interface of a buffer layer of a material that alloys both with Copper and with Niobium.
