Introduction of ramp-type technology in HTS quasiparticle injection devices

Injection of quasiparticles with an energy larger than the superconducting gap into a superconducting strip results in breaking of Cooper-pairs and hence the suppression of the superconducting properties. Experiments using planar injection devices made of HTS materials with various barrier materials showed current gains varying from 2 up to 15 at 77 K. By changing the junction size and therefore the superconducting volume the current gain could be increased. A further reduction of the junction volume is very difficult using the planar device geometry. However, by applying the ramp-type technology it is possible to reduce the junction volume by at least one order of magnitude and a further increase in current gain is expected. Another advantage of this technology is the formation of in-situ barriers and electrodes and hence a better control of the junction characteristics should be possible, also the compatibility with the processes involved making RSFQ devices can be interesting for later applications. We have fabricated ramp-type injection devices, using various types of barriers. Characterization of these devices has been performed and the results of these experiments will be presented and discussed

HTS quasiparticle injection devices with large current gain at 77 K

Recent progress on the development of planar QP-injection devices using YBCO and STO as an epitaxial injection barrier will be discussed. The main problem for HTS injection devices is to grow reliably a well defined, ultra-thin tunneling barrier suitable for QP tunneling. For this purpose, we used inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering to first optimize the smoothness of our YBCO films by controlling tightly an relevant sputtering conditions. We are able to prepare smooth (001) YBCO films on (001) STO substrates on a routine basis with an average roughness varying between 1 and 2 nm. With these flat YBCO films both planar as well as grain boundary junctions were fabricated using epitaxial STO barriers between 2 and 8 nm thick and a 50 nm of Au counter electrode. Planar junctions with 6 nm STO barriers were in most cases fully insulating, in some cases, a current gain of up to 7.4 at 77 K was obtained. For 3 nm STO barriers, the highest current gain was 15 at 81 K. The injection results also show a scaling behavior with junction size. Based on the present materials development and device understanding, we consider a current gain of up to 20 at 77 K possibl

Material aspects for preparing HTS quasiparticle injection devices

Quasiparticle (QP) injection devices based on HTS could play an important role in future superconducting applications if material aspects can be better controlled. One reason why this kind of device received little attention in the past is the lack of an appropriate barrier for QP tunnelling. In a series of experiments, we used different barriers to test if they are suitable, i.e. if a current and possibly a voltage gain can be achieved. We improved the performance of planar YBCO/natural barrier/Au devices and a current gain of more than 6 at 40 K was observed. Most devices, however, showed signs of heating effects. Another barrier material was SrTiO3 with layers of 5-6 nm thickness. Current-voltage characteristics showed that the barriers were continuous and we observed current gains of up to 3 at 60 K. PrBa2 Cu3O7-x is an interesting candidate if one could overcome the problem of resonant inelastic tunnelling for QP. In a series of experiments we demonstrated that, even for 3 Mn thin PBCO barriers on a- and c-axis oriented YBa2Cu3O7-x, most devices showed at best a current gain of 1. However, we have indications that a current gain of 10 could be possible with unity voltage gai

Surface roughness and height-height correlations dependence on thickness of YBaCuO thin films

For high Tc superconducting multilayer applications, smooth interfaces between the individual layers are required. However, in general, e.g., YBaCuO grows in a 3D screw-dislocation or island nucleation growth mode, introducing a surface roughness. In this contribution we study the surface layer roughness as a function of different deposition techniques as well as deposition parameters. Special attention will be paid to the increase in film roughness with increasing film thickness. For these studies we used scanning probe microscopy. From these experiments, we obtained an island density decreasing with a square root dependence on the film thickness. Furthermore, height-height correlations indicate that the film growth can be described by a ballistic growth process, with very limited effective surface diffusion. The correlation lengths ¿ are on the order of the island size, inferring that the island size forms the mean diffusion barrier. This results in a representation of non-correlated islands, which can be considered as autonomous systems

α spectrin is essential for morphogenesis and body wall muscle formation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Acommon feature of multicellular animals is the ubiquitous presence of the spectrin cytoskeleton. Although discovered over 30 yr ago, the function of spectrin in nonerythrocytes has remained elusive. We have found that the spc-1 gene encodes the only α spectrin gene in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome. During embryogenesis, α spectrin localizes to the cell membrane in most if not all cells, starting at the first cell stage. Interestingly, this localization is dependent on β spectrin but not βHeavy spectrin. Furthermore, analysis of spc-1 mutants indicates that β spectrin requires α spectrin to be stably recruited to the cell membrane. Animals lacking functional α spectrin fail to complete embryonic elongation and die just after hatching. These mutant animals have defects in the organization of the hypodermal apical actin cytoskeleton that is required for elongation. In addition, we find that the process of elongation is required for the proper differentiation of the body wall muscle. Specifically, when compared with myofilaments in wild-type animals the myofilaments of the body wall muscle in mutant animals are abnormally oriented relative to the longitudinal axis of the embryo, and the body wall muscle cells do not undergo normal cell shape changes

Detection of Noble Gas Scintillation Light with Large Area Avalanche Photodiodes (LAAPDs)

Large Area Avalanche Photodiodes (LAAPDs) were used for a series of systematic measurements of the scintillation light in Ar, Kr, and Xe gas. Absolute quantum efficiencies are derived. Values for Xe and Kr are consistent with those given by the manufacturer. For the first time we show that argon scintillation (128 nm) can be detected at a quantum efficiency above 40%. Low-pressure argon gas is shown to emit significant amounts of non-UV radiation. The average energy expenditure for the creation of non-UV photons in argon gas at this pressure is measured to be below 378 eV.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

AFM studies of surface morphologies of sputtered SrTiO₃ films and annealed MgO substrates

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is applied to study the surface morphologies and growth mechanisms of sputtered SrTiO3 films on single-crystal MgO(100) substrates. Meanwhile, surface morphologies of as-polished and post-annealed MgO(100) substrates are investigated as well. Effects of the miscut (or misorientation) of the substrate surface on morphologies and growth mechanisms are discussed. For comparison, a typical surface morphology and growth mechanism of the spiral island structure in sputtered PrBa2Cu3O7-δ films on MgO(100) substrates are presented