TiN/dielectric nanolaminates: effects of metamaterial engineering and disorder on the superconductive properties

TiN/dielectric nanolaminates: effects of metamaterial engineering and disorder on the superconductive properties | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article TiN/dielectric nanolaminates: effects of metamaterial engineering and disorder on the superconductive properties Vera N. Smolyaninova, Shiva Pokhrel, Thomas Snarski, Andrew C. Lang, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9247968/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A series of TiN thin films and TiN/TiO 2 and TiN/AlN nanolaminates were deposited using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) to study whether the previously demonstrated metamaterial approach to enhancing the superconductive properties of layered (i.e. hyperbolic meta-) materials is relevant to TiN. While none of the nanolaminate multilayers had superconducting transitions, T c , that exceeded the bulk value of TiN, there were enhancements compared to the T c ’s of very thin single layer films (thinner than 30 nm) of comparable thicknesses, which have reduced values due to the effects of disorder. Upon closer examination, it is apparent that the nanolaminate stacks do not behave like individual superconducting layers separated by dielectric layers, but rather as an anisotropic single layer which results in the higher T c ’s than for single layer superconductors. This study demonstrates that the metamaterial engineering approach for hyperbolic superconductors results in a complex interplay between normal state resistivity and the enhancement of the attractive electron-electron interaction that is effective in enhancing their superconductive properties. Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology Physical sciences/Physics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 17 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 06 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 31 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9247968","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":621448796,"identity":"d59d123c-d582-471f-82fb-75c4925c3466","order_by":0,"name":"Vera N. 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While none of the nanolaminate multilayers had superconducting transitions, \u003cem\u003eT\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003ec\u003c/sub\u003e, that exceeded the bulk value of TiN, there were enhancements compared to the \u003cem\u003eT\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003ec\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026rsquo;s of very thin single layer films (thinner than 30 nm) of comparable thicknesses, which have reduced values due to the effects of disorder. Upon closer examination, it is apparent that the nanolaminate stacks do not behave like individual superconducting layers separated by dielectric layers, but rather as an anisotropic single layer which results in the higher \u003cem\u003eT\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003ec\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026rsquo;s than for single layer superconductors. This study demonstrates that the metamaterial engineering approach for hyperbolic superconductors results in a complex interplay between normal state resistivity and the enhancement of the attractive electron-electron interaction that is effective in enhancing their superconductive properties.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"TiN/dielectric nanolaminates: effects of metamaterial engineering and disorder on the superconductive properties","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-13 08:00:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9247968/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"157290520885309393263695869400884513852","date":"2026-05-17T17:47:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-21T21:50:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"24241130996728096733377957147562197311","date":"2026-04-07T16:39:59+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-07T07:30:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-06T11:26:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-31T06:44:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-31T06:44:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-03-27T19:40:24+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"88f31e00-f7d1-4285-8a5e-9437975e0157","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 13th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"157290520885309393263695869400884513852","date":"2026-05-17T17:47:47+00:00","index":60,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":66137005,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":66137006,"name":"Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology"},{"id":66137007,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-13T08:00:56+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-13 08:00:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9247968","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9247968","identity":"rs-9247968","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}