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 3e18 cm-2 of 80 keV and 5e18 cm-2 of 100 keV B+ ions and next treated with hydrogen and argon plasma pulses of duration of about 1 mu s 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 T-c as high as 32 K. However, the zero-resistance effect has not been obtained due to incomplete global connectivity between the superconducting regions.