{
  "abstract": "A specific heat treatment at 300 C, named medium-temperature baking (Mid-T baking) is applied to superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) accelerating cavities to improve the quality factor (Qo) at medium accelerating fields (10 to 20 MV/m). This treatment is very successful when done properly as it can reduce by almost a factor of two the power dissipations in this field range. However, surface contamination can lead to the degradation of Qo instead. Plasma-based surface treatment provides an effective approach to eliminate contaminants from the Niobium surface. In this study an insitu plasma cleaning process with argon containing 10 % O2 was performed to remove hydrocarbons from Niobium surface. The treatment was applied before and after a heat treatment at 500 C under ultra-high vacuum conditions (Mid-T baking). Changes in chemical speciation and oxide layer alteration induced by plasma processing were analyzed using insitu X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and exsitu scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that plasma treatment modifies the composition of Niobium oxides, converting a Nb2O5 layer into NbO2. Furthermore, a plasma treatment before Mid-T baking helps reduce unstable oxides such as NbxO and significantly increases the proportion of metallic Niobium at the surface. The Niobium sample treated by plasma prior to Mid-T baking showed a 53 % reduction in carbide formation. Moreover, the C1s component attributed to NbC bonds shifts toward lower binding energy, indicating the formation of a more metallic NbC phase. Whereas without plasma treatment, the higher binding energy component observed after Mid T baking is consistent with Nb2C.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2606.12091",
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "C. Boutelaa"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Gruszka"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Cheney"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Yemane"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Gerardin"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Mistretta"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Demailly"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Laxdal"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Kolb"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Keir"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Mercier"
    },
    {
      "name": "N. Prud homme"
    },
    {
      "name": "G. Sattonnay"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Longuevergne"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bkh8adfpqtza.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.12091",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4bkh8adfpqtza",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.12091",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.acc-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2202|Particle accelerators and beam dynamics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7164416453",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.12091",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bkh8adfpqtza.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T12:20:58Z",
      "native_id": "2606.12091",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.12091"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.acc-ph",
      "subfield": "applied-instrumentation"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Improvement of Heat-Treated Niobium Surface by In-situ Plasma Treatment Applied to Superconducting RF Resonator",
  "title_text": "Improvement of Heat-Treated Niobium Surface by In-situ Plasma Treatment Applied to Superconducting RF Resonator",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T15:20:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bkh8adfpqtza",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}