Reactively evaporated films of copper molybdenum sulfide

Films of superconducting Chevrel-phase copper molybdenum sulfide CuxMo6S8 were deposited on sapphire substrates by reactive evaporation using H2S as the reacting gas. Two superconducting temperatures (10.0 K and 5.0 K) of the films were found, corresponding to two different phases with different copper concentrations. All films were superconducting above 4.2 K and contained Chevrel-phase compound as well as free molybdenum. The critical current was measured as a function of applied field. One sample was found to deviate from the scaling law found for co-evaporated or sputtered samples, which possibly indicates a different pinning mechanism or inhomogeneity of the sample.