A new surface resistance measurement method with ultrahigh sensitivity

A superconducting niobium triaxial cavity has been designed and fabricated to study residual surface resistance of planar superconducting materials. Unlike many other structures where the test samples are placed in strong magnetic field positions, the edge of a 25.4 mm or larger diameter sample in the triaxial cavity is located outside the strong field region. Therefore, the edge effects and possible losses between the thin film and the substrate have been minimized in this design, ensuring that the induced RF losses are intrinsic to the test material. The fundamental resonant frequency of the cavity is 1.5 GHz, the same as the working frequency of CEBAF cavities. The cavity has a compact size compared to its TE₀₁₁ counterpart, which makes it more sensitive to the sample's loss.