High-performance electronic cooling with superconducting tunnel junctions

When biased at a voltage just below a superconductor's energy gap, a tunnel junction between this superconductor and a normal metal cools the latter. While the study of such devices has long been focused to structures of submicron size and consequently cooling power in the picowatt range, we have led a thorough study of devices with a large cooling power up to the nanowatt range. Here we describe how their performance can be optimized by using a quasi-particle drain and tuning the cooling junctions' tunnel barrier.     

Tunneling magnetoresistance and electroresistance properties of composite‐barrier ferroelectric tunnel junctions

The multiferroic properties of ferroelectric tunnel junctions with a composite barrier comprising a fully epitaxial La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃/BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃/La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ heterostructure are reported in this study. The patterned junctions having extended top electrodes show tunnel magnetoresistance ratios ranging from 20% to 110% at 77 K. Furthermore, tunneling electroresistance – induced by ferroelectric polarization switching and showing two‐state memory effect in the dynamic resistance – has also been observed in these junctions. Thus, with the concurrence of tunneling electroresistance and magnetoresistance, these tunnel junctions serve as memory devices with four resistance states. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

超导隧道结中的电流相位关系

计算了等自旋配对超导隧道结中的直流Josephson电流.结果表明,当两侧超导体中配对势的轨道对称性分别属于磁点群D₄的A不可约表示和 ²E不可约表示的情况下,电流相位关系是I∝sin4φ. 关键词： 超导隧道结 Josephson电流     

超导材料的发展与研究现状

新型超导材料一直是人类追求的目标。该文主要从超导材料的探索与发现、制备技术、基础研究面临的挑战等几个方面来探讨超导材料的发展与研究现状。     

Solid state detectors for neutron radiation monitoring in fusion facilities

The purpose of this communication is to summarize the main solid state based detectors proposed for neutron diagnostic in fusion applications and their applicability under the required harsh conditions in terms of intense radiation, high temperature and available space restrictions. Activation systems, semiconductor based detectors, luminescent materials and Cerenkov fibre optics sensors (C-FOS) are the main devices that are described.     

2D superconducting junction networks as detectors of radiation

Summary We present a careful study of the behaviour of the below-gap photoresponse in 2D arrays of superconducting junctions. We have included the effects of the temperature, not only through the white-noise current term, but also through theT-dependence of the junction coupling energy. In order to render our model more realistic we also consider the correction due to the self-field generated by the screening currents. Paper presented at the ?VII Congresso SATT?, Torino, 4–7 October 1994.     

A superconducting tunnel junction receiver for 345 GHz

In this paper we discuss the design, fabrication, and testing of a quasiparticle tunnel junction receiver for use at 345 GHz. The design employs small area Nb/Nb-oxide/PbInAu edge junctions in order to keep the device capacitance small and maintain a modest value for R_NC. For optimura noise performance and beam properties the mixer is contained in a waveguide mounting structure. Our best sensitivity was obtained at 312 GHz where we measured a double sideband (DSB) noise temperature of 275 K. Noise temperatures of 400 K (DSB) or better were obtained out to 350 GHz.     

Measurement of electrodynamic parameters of superconducting films in the far-infrared and submillimeter frequency ranges

Possibilities of determing the complex conductivity of thin super-conducting films using far-infrared and submillimeter reflectivity and transmissivity techniques are discussed. It is shown that within the framework of standard approaches a satisfactory accuracy is available only for the imaginary part of the conductivity (dielectric permittivity). Different resonator methods are suggested for measuring the real part of the conductivity. Data for superconducting NbN films at frequencies 3 – 25 cm^–1 are presented.     

Growth,fabrication, and testing of bismuth tri-iodide semiconductor radiation detectors

Bismuth tri-iodide (BiI₃) is an attractive material for high energy resolution radiation detectors. For the purpose of this research, detectors were fabricated using single crystals grown from ultra-pure BiI₃ powder; synthesized by the Physical Vapor Transport (PVT) technique. This technique yielded powder with total impurity level of 7.9 ppm. Efforts were also made to purify commercial BiI₃ powder using a custom-built Traveling Zone Refining (TZR) system. Initial trial runs were successful in reducing the total impurity level of the commercial powder from 200 ppm to less than 50 ppm. Using the modified vertical Bridgman technique and a customized sharp tip ampoule, a large BiI₃ single crystal was grown. The crystal had a surface area of 2.2 cm² and a thickness of 0.8 cm, which corresponds to a volume of 1.78 cm³. Radiation detectors were fabricated and then tested by measuring their electrical characteristics and radiation response. An alpha particle spectrum (using a ²⁴¹Am α-source) was recorded at room temperature with a BiI₃ detector 0.09 cm thick and with a surface area of 0.16 cm². The electron mobility was estimated to be 433 ± 79 cm²/V.     

Enhanced pinning of superconducting vortices at circular magnetic dots in the magnetic-vortex state

Low-temperature magnetic force microscopy (LT-MFM) was used to study the distribution of superconducting vortices in Nb above a square array of 1 μm-sized circular ferromagnetic dots in a magnetic-vortex state. The force that the MFM tip exerts on the individual vortex in the depinning process was used to estimate the spatial modulation of the pinning potential. It was found, that the superconducting vortices which are preferably located on top of the Py dots experience a pinning force, about 15 times stronger as compared to the pinning force in the pure Nb film. This strong pinning exceeds the repulsive interaction between the superconducting vortices and allows vortex clusters to be located above the dots.     

Bulk—like contribution of tunnel magnetoresistance in magnetic tunnel junctions

We have demonstrated that the bulk-like contribution to tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) exists in the magnetic tunnel junctions, and is determined by the tunnelling characteristic length of the ferromagnetic electrodes. In the experiment, a wedge-shaped CoFe layer is inserted at the interface between the insulating barrier and the reference electrode. It is found that TMR ratio increases from 18% without CoFe layer to a saturation value of 26.5% when the CoFe thickness is about 2.3 nm. The tunnelling characteristic length, l_{tc}, can be obtained to be about 0.8 nm for CoFe materials.     

The analysis of superconducting thin films modified by AFM lithography with a spectroscopic imaging technique

A practical application of nanolithography using atomic force microscopy (AFM) was accomplished in fabricating superconducting flux flow transistors (SFFTs). It was found that it is essential to oxidize a superconducting thin film, grown on LaAlO₃ substrates by a thermal CVD process, by an applied bias voltage between a conducting AFM tip and the films, since I/V characteristics of the device were mainly controlled by the modified gate area in the SFFT. After AFM lithography, the critical current of an YBCO thin film was found to be degraded. Raman lines in the modified YBCO film were observed at 340, 502, and 632 cm⁻¹ in Ar the laser system and 142, 225, and 585 cm⁻¹ in the He-Ne laser system. Raman fluorescence images were also produced by mapping the Raman peaks. A strain image of the peak at 142 cm⁻¹ was most clear, which means that a surface of the YBCO thin film was changed into the YBa₂Cu₃O₆ insulator. AFM nanolithography enables us to fabricate a channel between a source and a drain in SFFT in order to get I/V characteristics.     

超导单光子探测器件直流特性研究

超导单光子探测技术是基于超薄超导薄膜的非平衡态热电子效应的一种新型的单光子探测方法。超导单光子探测器(SNSPD)的计数率可达到GHz,时间抖动小于100ps,因而在未来量子通信系统中有着广阔的应用前景。介绍了NbN超导单光子探测器件的工作原理和器件超导性能测试系统;测试了超导单光子探测器件的电阻-温度、电流-电压等特性。并对测试结果进行了分析和讨论。     

退火时间对MgB_2超导薄膜的影响

在多晶A l2O3衬底上,以B2H6作为硼源,化学气相沉积先驱B薄膜,采用Mg扩散方法,在不同退火时间条件下制备了MgB2超导薄膜。通过电阻-温度曲线测量、X射线衍射分析和扫描电子显微镜形貌观测方法,研究了退火时间对MgB2薄膜的超导特性、晶体结构、表面形貌的影响。     

Commensurability effects in magnetic properties of superconducting Nb thin films with periodic submicrometric pores

Pinning properties in 100 nm thick continuous and porous superconducting Nb films are examined by ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements. The Nb film was deposited on a smooth Si substrate, while the porous film, Nb_P, was deposited on an anodized Al oxide substrate. Pores or “antidots” 40 nm in diameter, 100 nm apart, form a triangular array. The porous film presents commensurate or matching field effects for applied magnetic fields where the magnetic flux threading each unit cell is an integer number of the flux quantum, where ac shielding capability and dc diamagnetic magnetization show an abrupt increase. The response to ac fields as a function of temperature and dc field provided a way to determine that Nb_P sample has higher pinning than the continuous one, and that T_C suppression due to fluxoid quantization is not relevant for the investigated temperature range.     

HgCdTe红外探测器离子注入剂量优化研究

在中波响应波段的p型Hg_0.709Cd_0.291Te(MCT)分子束外延生长薄膜上，利用材料芯片技术获得叠加注入不同硼离子剂量的系列大光敏元面积(500μm×500μm)的n-op-p结.通过测量液氮温度下不同离子注入剂量单元的电流-电压特性和对零偏微分电阻R₀分析，观测到p-n结的性能与硼离子注入剂量明显的依赖关系.在另一片薄膜材料(镉组分值为0.2743)上通过该方法获得R₀A优于现有常规数值的探测器单元. 关键词： p-n结 离子注入 碲镉汞薄膜     

Dynamics of kinematic vortices in a mesoscopic superconducting loop

Using the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau formalism, we study the dynamic properties of a submicron superconducting loop in applied current and in presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The resistive state of the sample is caused by the motion of kinematic vortex–antivortex pairs. Vortices and antivortices move in opposite directions to each other, perpendicularly to the applied drive, and the periodic creation and annihilation of such pairs results in periodic oscillations of the voltage across the sample. The dynamics of these kinematic pairs is strongly influenced by the applied magnetic field, which for high fields leads to the flow of just vortices. Kinematic vortices can be temporarily pinned inside the loop with observable trace in the voltage vs. time characteristics.     

Determination of probe spacings for the precise evaluation of electrical characteristics of a magnetic tunnel junction by in-house current-in-plane tunneling measurements

Magnetic tunnel junctions have not been easily accessible for research because of not only their complicated fabrication processes but also side effects induced during the fabrication. The method utilizing arrays composed of in-line four-point probes with various spacings is promising as an alternative to the fabrication method. We found in the current-in-plane tunneling measurement that the determination of the probe spacing is the most important to evaluate the characteristics of magnetic tunnel junctions. Our simulation indicates that if one would choose at least more than three sets of an array with probe spacings centered at the spacing at which the maximum current-in-plane tunneling magnetoresistance is observed, the statistics should become improved resulting in the accurate evaluation of the properties of tunnel junctions. We also found that the suitable probe spacings with a change in the resistance of electrodes are not as sensitive as those with a change in the RA of the tunnel junction. Our results alert that the failure of selecting suitable probe spacings observes no tunneling signals because tunneling is very sensitive to the resistances of the tunnel junction and electrodes, which makes the current-in-plane tunneling method useless.     

Electron and phonon effects in superconducting tunnel detectors of x-radiation

Nb/Al/AlO_x/Nb superconducting tunnel junctions were investigated in the role of x-ray detectors. Amplitude spectra of pulses arising upon irradiation of tunnel junctions of different sizes by ⁵⁵Mn x-radiation were recorded at a temperature T=1.4 K. We also analyzed the temporal shape of the pulses. We considered the influence of diffuse motion of nonequilibrium quasiparticles, the inverse tunneling effect, and exchange of 2Δ phonons between electrodes, on the characteristics of the tunnel detectors. It is shown that phonon processes can bring about changes in the amplitude, duration, and polarity of the signal. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1168–1175 (July 1999)     

Excitonic detectors of infrared and submillimeter radiation

The theory of new type detectors based on the quenching of secondary emission in direct-gap semiconductors (lines of Raman light scattering due to interaction between free and bound excitons in the crystal, and also bands of edge radiation) caused by IR or submillimeter radiation is proposed. The results obtained are confirmed by the experiment performed for CdS crystal excited by ultraviolet radiation of mercury lamp, at liquid helium temperature.