Coulomb blockade thermometry using a two-dimensional array of tunnel junctions

We have measured current-voltage characteristics of two-dimensional arrays of small tunnel junctions at temperatures from 1.5 K to 4.2 K. This corresponds to thermal energies larger than the charging energy. We show that 2D-arrays can be used as primary thermometers in the same way as 1D-arrays, and even have some advantages over 1D-arrays. We have carried out Monte Carlo simulations, which agree with our experimental results.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures. Also available from Journal of Applied Physics (http://link.aip.org/link/?jap/86/3844

A fast, primary Coulomb blockade thermometer

We have measured the third derivative of the current-voltage characteristics, d^3I/dV^3, in a two-dimensional array of small tunnel junctions using a lock-in amplifier. We show that this derivative is zero at a voltage which scales linearly with the temperature and depends only on the temperature and natural constants, thus providing a primary thermometer. We demonstrate a measurement method which extracts the zero crossing voltage directly using a feedback circuit. This method requires only one voltage measurement, which makes it substantially faster than the original Coulomb blockade thermometry method.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures. This article has been submitted to Applied Physics Letters (http://ojps.aip.org/aplo

A variable temperature scanning SQUID microscope

Abstract -We present a design of a scanning SQUID microscope (SSM) operating in a temperature range between about 5 K (2 K with pumping) and 100 K

Nanopatterning of weak links in superconducting oxide interfaces

The interface between two wide band-gap insulators, LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 (LAO/STO), hosts a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (q2DEG), two-dimensional superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and giant Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The co-existence of two-dimensional superconductivity with gate-tunable spin-orbit coupling and multiband occupation is of particular interest for the realization of unconventional superconducting pairing. To investigate the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter, phase sensitive measurements of the Josephson effect are required. We describe an approach for the fabrication of artificial superconducting weak links at the LAO/STO interface using direct high-resolution electron beam lithography and low-energy argon ion beam irradiation. The method does not require lift-off steps or sacrificial layers. Therefore, resolution is only limited by the electron beam lithography and pattern transfer. We have realized superconducting weak links with a barrier thickness of 30–100 nm. The barrier transparency of the weak links can be controlled by the irradiation dose and further tuned by a gate voltage. Our results open up new possibilities for the realization of quantum devices in oxide interfaces

Retention of Electronic Conductivity in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Nanostructures Using a SrCuO2 Capping Layer

The interface between two wide band-gap insulators, LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) offers a unique playground to study the interplay and competitions between different ordering phenomena in a strongly correlated two- dimensional electron gas. Recent studies of the LAO/STO interface reveal the inhomogeneous nature of the 2DEG that strongly influences electrical-transport properties. Nanowires needed in future applications may be adversely affected, and our aim is, thus, to produce a more homogeneous electron gas. In this work, we demonstrate that nanostructures fabricated in the quasi-2DEG at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, capped with a SrCuO2 layer, retain their electrical resistivity and mobility independent of the structure size, ranging from 100 nm to 30 mu m. This is in contrast to noncapped LAO/STO structures, where the room-temperature electrical resistivity significantly increases when the structure size becomes smaller than 1 mu m. High-resolution intermodulation electrostatic force microscopy reveals an inhomogeneous surface potential with "puddles" of a characteristic size of 130 nm in the noncapped samples and a more uniform surface potential with a larger characteristic size of the puddles in the capped samples. In addition, capped structures show superconductivity below 200 mK and nonlinear currentvoltage characteristics with a clear critical current observed up to 700 mK. Our findings shed light on the complicated nature of the 2DEG at the LAO/STO interface and may also be used for the design of electronic devices

The role of oxygen vacancies in SrTiO3 at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

Strontium titanate, SrTiO3, a widely used substrate material for electronic oxide thin film devices, has provided many interesting features. In a combination with a similar oxide material, LaAlO3, it has recently received great interest. It was suggested that two-dimensional electron gas is formed at the interface between SrTiO3 and LaAlO3, resulting in high electrical conductivity and mobility. In this report we demonstrate that the transport properties in those heterostructures are very sensitive to the deposition parameters during thin film growth. Using cathode- and photoluminescence studies in conjunction with measurements of electrical transport properties and microstructure we show that the electronic properties observed at a LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface can be explained by oxygen reduced SrTiO3. In addition, we demonstrate that oxygen can be pushed in and out of the sample, but that re-oxygenation of an initially oxygen depleted LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructure is partly prevented by the presence of the film.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Strain enhanced anisotropy of in-plane resistivity of YBa2Cu3O7-delta films

Highly bi-axially stressed, thin epitaxial films of YBa2Cu3O7-delta were deposited on mismatched, orthorhombic (001) YAlO3 substrates. Strain may be used to enhance anisotropy and affect spin and charge ordering in cuprate superconductors. The resistivity was anisotropic along the a and b axes and the ratio rho(a)/rho(b) approximate to 2 agreed well with that for untwinned single crystals. rho(a)(T), but not rho(b)(T), peaked sharply at a temperature closely above the superconducting transition temperature, while the latter estimated from rho(b)(T) exceeded the one determined from rho(a)(T). The height of the peak Delta rho(a) in rho(a)(T) decreased with increased bias current and applied magnetic field. The behavior may be explained by partly relaxed regions, preferably aligned along the b axis, but may also depend upon spin/charge ordering

Dielectric response of Ba0.05Sr0.95TiO3(110) films to variations in temperature and electric field

Three-layer epitaxial heterostructures, in which a 1000-nm-thick intermediate layer of Ba0.05Sr0.95TiO3 is integrated with strontium ruthenate conducting electrodes, have been grown by laser evaporation. Using photolithography and ion etching, film parallel-plate capacitors SrRuO3/Ba0.05Sr0.95TiO3/SrRuO3 are formed based on the grown heterostructures. A sharp maximum in the temperature dependence of the capacitor capacitance is observed at T ≈ 75 K. At T 250 K and the measuring signal frequency of 1 kHz, the dielectric loss tangent of the film capacitors increases exponentially with increasing temperature