792 research outputs found
Suppression of dissipation in Nb thin films with triangular antidot arrays by random removal of pinning sites
The depinning current Ic versus applied magnetic field B close to the
transition temperature Tc of Nb thin films with randomly diluted triangular
arrays of antidots is investigated. % Our experiments confirm essential
features in Ic(B) as predicted by Reichhardt and Olson Reichhardt [Phys.Rev. B
76, 094512 (2007)]. % We show that, by introducing disorder into periodic
pinning arrays, Ic can be enhanced. % In particular, for arrays with fixed
density n_p of antidots, an increase in dilution Pd induces an increase in Ic
and decrease of the flux-flow voltage for B>Bp=n_p Phi_0.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Proximity effect model of ultra-narrow NbN strips
We show that narrow superconducting strips in superconducting (S) and normal
(N) states are universally described by the model presenting them as lateral
NSN proximity systems in which the superconducting central band is sandwiched
between damaged edge-bands with suppressed superconductivity.The width of the
superconducting band was experimentally determined from the value of magnetic
field at which the band transits from the Meissner state to the static vortex
state. Systematic experimental study of 4.9 nm thick NbN strips with widths in
the interval from 50 nm to 20 m, which are all smaller than the Pearl's
length, demonstrates gradual evolution of the temperature dependence of the
critical current with the change of the strip width
Aluminum Hard Mask Technique for the Fabrication of High-Quality Submicron Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb Josephson Junctions
We have developed a combined photolithography and electron-beam lithography
fabrication process for sub-\mum to \mum-size Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb Josephson
junctions. In order to define the junction size and protect its top electrode
during anodic oxidation, we developed and used the new concept of an aluminum
hard mask. Josephson junctions of sizes down to 0.5 \mum2 have been fabricated
and thoroughly characterized. We found that they have a very high quality,
which is witnessed by the IV curves with quality parameters Vm > 50 mV and Vgap
= 2.8 mV at 4.2 K, as well as IcRN products of 1.75-1.93 mV obtained at lower
temperatures. In order to test the usability of our fabrication process for
superconducting quantum bits, we have also designed, fabricated and
experimentally investigated phase qubits made of these junctions. We found a
relaxation time of T1 = 26 ns and a dephasing time of T2 = 21 ns
Characterization Measurements of Sapphire and Diamond based KIDs for Polarimetric Plasma Diagnostics
Enhancement of superconductivity in NbN nanowires by negative electron-beam lithography with positive resist
We performed comparative experimental investigation of superconducting NbN
nanowires which were prepared by means of positive-and negative electron-beam
lithography with the same positive tone Poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) resist.
We show that nanowires with a thickness 4.9 nm and widths less than 100 nm
demonstrate at 4.2 K higher critical temperature and higher density of critical
and retrapping currents when they are prepared by negative lithography. Also
the ratio of the experimental critical-current to the depairing critical
current is larger for nanowires prepared by negative lithography. We associate
the observed enhancement of superconducting properties with the difference in
the degree of damage that nanowire edges sustain in the lithographic process. A
whole range of advantages which is offered by the negative lithography with
positive PMMA resist ensures high potential of this technology for improving
performance metrics of superconducting nanowire singe-photon detectors
Confinement of superconducting fluctuations due to emergent electronic inhomogeneities
The microscopic nature of an insulating state in the vicinity of a
superconducting state, in the presence of disorder, is a hotly debated
question. While the simplest scenario proposes that Coulomb interactions
destroy the Cooper pairs at the transition, leading to localization of single
electrons, an alternate possibility supported by experimental observations
suggests that Cooper pairs instead directly localize. The question of the
homogeneity, granularity, or possibly glassiness of the material on the verge
of this transition is intimately related to this fundamental issue. Here, by
combining macroscopic and nano-scale studies of superconducting ultrathin NbN
films, we reveal nanoscopic electronic inhomogeneities that emerge when the
film thickness is reduced. In addition, while thicker films display a purely
two-dimensional behaviour in the superconducting fluctuations, we demonstrate a
zero-dimensional regime for the thinner samples precisely on the scale of the
inhomogeneities. Such behavior is somehow intermediate between the Fermi and
Bose insulator paradigms and calls for further investigation to understand the
way Cooper pairs continuously evolve from a bound state of fermionic objects
into localized bosonic entities.Comment: 29 pages 9 figure
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