C.M. Pegrum

Excess noise in thin film grain boundary Josephson junctions and devices

The subject of electronic noise in high- superconducting Josephson devices and in their applications is considered. Several types of grain boundary junctions, prepared in different ways by four separate international laboratories, are fully characterized in terms of their electrical and noise properties at a range of temperatures, frequencies, magnetic fields and in the presence of microwaves. Similar characterization is carried out for multijunction Josephson flux-flow arrays, and bi-epitaxial SQUIDs. The theory of Likharev and Semenov for thermal noise in low- junctions is adopted as a reference against which excess noise can be identified in high- junctions. It is combined with theoretical models of excess noise based on fluctuations of critical current and resistance to provide accurate fitting of the observed noise curves. It is shown that the normalized levels of critical current and normal resistance fluctuations for all of the junction types examined are remarkably close (typically around and at 100 Hz) and are nearly independent of temperature in the range T = 30 - 80 K. The frequency dependence is close to the universal 1/f law with some deviations due to trapping of charge carriers at discrete states in the tunnelling barrier. Measurements of voltage noise levels and critical current fluctuations in multijunction flux-flow amplifiers, reported for the first time, are consistent with levels in single junctions of the same type. Excess noise is studied as a function of external magnetic field, in a way that has not been previously described. A new interpretation of the magnetic field-dependent noise data indicates that absolute levels of critical current fluctuations are nearly independent of applied magnetic field. This observation does not appear to have been reported elsewhere. It has important implications for the operation of grain boundary Josephson devices in real applications. Voltage noise in the presence of microwave irradiation, at operating points between Shapiro steps, is consistent with a modified form of the Likharev - Semenov equation which takes into account the known level of critical current fluctuations as measured in field-free conditions. The implications of these results for further improvements in device performance are discussed, and directions for further work are suggested.

Pulsed laser deposition of YBa2Cu3O7-δ and NdBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films : A comparative study

Abstract Thin films of YBa2Cu3O7−δ and NdBa2Cu3O7−δ were grown by pulsed laser deposition. The statistical methods of experimental design and regression analysis were used to correlate the electrical and morphological properties of the films to the growth conditions. For optimised transition temperatures the deposition parameter settings of target–substrate distance, oxygen pressure and laser energy density were found to differ significantly for YBa2Cu3O7−δ and NdBa2Cu3O7−δ. While the maximum transition temperatures obtained were similar (∼90 K) for the two materials, all NdBa2Cu3O7−δ films had a roughness comparable to the c-axis unit cell dimension whereas the YBa2Cu3O7−δ films had a surface roughness which varied between 5–17 nm depending on the growth conditions. In addition, there were differences in the average size and density of non-stoichiometric outgrowths on the two types of film. These differences we relate to a difference in growth mode. Our atomic force microscope and scanning tunnelling microscope studies suggest a 3D screw dislocation mediated growth for YBa2Cu3O7−δ and a 2D layer-by-layer process for NdBa2Cu3O7−δ.

Highly balanced long-baseline single-layer high-Tc superconducting quantum interference device gradiometer

We describe a direct-current superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) first-order gradiometer fabricated from a single layer of YBa2Cu3O7 on a 30×10 mm2 bicrystal substrate. The device has a baseline of 13 mm and an intrinsic balance of ∼10−3. The gradient sensitivity at 77 K and 1 kHz is 50 fT/(cmHz) in magnetic shielding and 260 fT/(cmHz) when operated unshielded in our laboratory. An antiparallel two-SQUID coupling scheme is employed to optimize the device’s balance to at least 3×10−5.

Simulation and Measurement of HTS Josephson Heterodyne Oscillator

We report continuing investigations into practical applications of the AC Josephson effect as the basis for a voltage-tunable radio-frequency oscillator. We have previously demonstrated experimentally that useful power levels (10 s of nW) and linewidths of a few kHz can be achieved in the heterodyne output from a high-temperature-superconducting resistive SQUID (HTS-RSQUID) operating in the frequency range 1-50 MHz. Those results were achieved with 2-junction R-SQUIDs incorporating current-biased shunt resistors of a few micro-ohms. We have now modified the fabrication procedures, and adjusted the shunt resistors and bias current values so that higher frequencies can be achieved. The Josephson junctions are of step-edge type, rather than the bi-crystal type used in our earlier work. The step-edge technique permits much more flexibility in the geometrical lay-out and utilizes the more cost-effective single-crystal MgO substrates. In the present paper, we report numerical simulations and experimental measurements on these devices in the frequency range up to 2 GHz.

DC SQUIDs with planar input coils

We describe the key parts of our recent work to develop a planar thin-film DC SQUID with a closely-coupled spiral input coil. Our aim has been to make a device that is superior to present RF SQUID sensors in terms of sensitivity and long-term reliability. To be compatible with an RF SQUID the inductance of the input coils must be relatively large, typically 2 μH, and the input noise current in the white noise region should be below 10pA Hz-1/2. A low level of 1/f noise is also necessary for many applications and should be achieved without the use of complex noise-cancelling circuitry. Our devices meet these criteria. We include a description of work on window and edge junction fabrication using ion beam cleaning, thermal oxidation and RF plasma processing.

Comparative noise measurements in YBCO step-edge and bi-crystal grain-boundary junctions

Abstract A system has been developed for the absolute measurement of excess noise in high-Tc superconducting devices. Grain-boundary Josephson junctions of step-edge and bi-crystal type, fabricated in four different laboratories, have been characterised and compared in the frequency range 0.1 Hz-60 kHz, and at temperatures between 35 K and 80 K. All junctions tested had bias-dependent noise peaks ranging in amplitude (at 60 kHz) from 0.2 to 5 nV Hz - 1 2 , which generally increased with decreasing temperature. The noise power spectral density varied with frequency as 1/f. Higher levels of noise, and a more complex current dependence, were found for small-area bi-crystal junctions, and for step-edge junctions generally. The results are compared with theory, and the implications for the development of low-noise devices (e.g. SQUIDs) are discussed.

High-Tc gradiometric superconducting quantum interference device and its incorporation into a single-layer gradiometer

We describe a first-order gradiometric dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and its incorporation into a first-order directly coupled single-layer gradiometer. The gradiometric SQUIDs were fabricated from a single layer of YBa2Cu3O7, with a silicon dioxide insulating layer and a gold crossover structure. For several gradiometric SQUIDs, with estimated inductances of order 67 pH, we measured parasitic effective areas in the range 1–2 μm2, approximately two orders of magnitude lower than for conventional narrow linewidth SQUIDs of similar inductance. For a single-layer gradiometer incorporating a gradiometric SQUID, we measured a parasitic effective area of 95 μm2. We demonstrate that for this device, the SQUID itself makes a negligible contribution to the overall parasitic effective area. We show that the improved balance leads to better performance in an unshielded environment.

Planar SQUID gradiometers fabricated on 24/spl deg/ and 30/spl deg/ SrTiO/sub 3/ bicrystals

HTS dc SQUID gradiometers have been fabricated on 24/spl deg/ and 30/spl deg/ SrTiO/sub 3/ bicrystal substrates with slots and flux dams in the SQUID washers. The spatial response of such devices has been measured experimentally and compared with modelled results. Single layer devices, in terms of gradient sensitivity, have characteristics that deviate only slightly from idealized first order gradiometers. The low frequency flux noise of these devices is discussed with particular emphasis on both the unshielded properties and the effect of various cooldown procedures on the noise.

A numerical and experimental investigation of planar asymmetric SQUID gradiometer characteristics

A low-cost, high-performance magnetic field sensor for applications such as biomagnetism and nondestructive evaluation can be fabricated by integrating a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and a gradiometer on a single chip. Conventionally, the gradiometric pick-up loop would have a rectangular outline divided symmetrically about the midpoint of its length so that its spatial response was also symmetrical. However, it is also possible to divide the same outline asymmetrically, maintaining the field rejection order of the gradiometer by adding an extra crossover. The spatial response of this arrangement will also be asymmetric, which may be exploited to reduce the effects of the nearby SQUID as a magnetic anomaly or to enhance the sensitivity of the device to magnetic sources at a particular distance. The techniques to calculate the crossover positions are well established. Here we outline how different designs may be evaluated theoretically and report on first experimental results for three simple designs. Several devices have been fabricated using a well established trilayer process with high yields. The measurement of the spatial response of an asymmetric first-order gradiometer shows the expected magnetometer characteristics for a magnetic dipole source in the near field and first-order gradiometric characteristics for a far-field source. The balance of the integrated gradiometer appears to be better than one part in , and the magnetic field gradient sensitivity has been measured to be .

A self-pumped high-temperature superconducting Josephson mixer: Modelling and measurement

We have recently developed a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson self-pumped mixer with an on-chip heterodyne local oscillator. The device is based on HTS step-edge junction technology and a “resistive-superconducting quantum interference device” (RSQUID) configuration. The heterodyne local oscillator and mixer output are frequency-tunable from below 10 MHz to 5 GHz by a control current. The performance of the autonomous Josephson mixer–local oscillator has been experimentally evaluated in terms of the current-voltage characteristics, intermediate frequency (IF)-tunable bandwidth, operation range, linearity, bias current, and temperature dependence of the IF output (or mixer conversion efficiency). We find the results are in good overall agreement with numerical simulation.