Submicron superconductor-insulator-normal tunnel junctions for self-refrigerating bolometers

Abstract

We report on measurements on superconductor-insulator-normal tunnel junctions at temperatures below 1K. The junctions have been fabricated by shadow mask technique and e-beam lithography and have submicron dimensions. The measurements on our junctions show that their characteristics are very sensitive to temperature changes making them suitable for sensing temperature in a bolometer. Measurements on arrays of junctions designed to test the on chip electronic refrigeration will be also shown