By scanning with a $30\, \mathrm{keV}$ focused He ion beam (He-FIB) across YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ (YBCO) thin film microbridges, we create Josephson barriers with critical current density $j_\mathrm{c}$ adjustable by irradiation dose $D$. The dependence $j_\mathrm{c} (D)$ yields an exponential decay. At $4.2\, \mathrm{K}$, a transition from flux-flow to Josephson behavior occurs when $j_\mathrm{c}$ decreases below $\approx 2\, \mathrm{MA/cm^2}$. The Josephson junctions exhibit current-voltage characteristics (IVCs) that are well described by the resistively and capacitively shunted junction model, without excess current for characteristic voltages $V_\mathrm{c} \lesssim 1\, \mathrm{mV}$. Devices on MgO and LSAT substrates show non-hysteretic IVCs, while devices on SrTiO$_3$ show a small hysteresis. For all junctions an approximate scaling $V_\mathrm{c} \propto j_\mathrm{c}^{1/2}$ is found. He-FIB irradiation with high dose produces barriers with $j_\mathrm{c}=0$ and high resistances of $10\, \mathrm{kΩ} \ldots 1\, \mathrm{GΩ}$. This provides the possibility to write highly resistive walls or areas into YBCO using a He-FIB. Transmission electron microscopy reveals an amorphous phase within the walls, whereas for lower doses the YBCO stays crystalline. We have also ``drawn'' superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) by using a He-FIB for definition of the SQUID hole and the junctions. The SQUIDs show high performance, with flux noise $< 500\, \mathrm{n Φ_0/Hz^{1/2}}$ in the thermal white noise limit for a device with $19\, \mathrm{pH}$ inductance.
We report measurements of the flux hysteresis curves and trapped flux distribution in an YBa2Cu3O7 r.f. SQUID containing two closely spaced grain boundary Josephson junctions in parallel. Broadening of the flux distribution from T = 15 K to 30 K is followed by a bifurcation at T = 35 K which corresponds to a degenerate ground state. Above T ~ 40 K the bifurcation disappears, the flux distribution narrows significantly and small secondary loops appear in the hysteresis curves. This behaviour can be modelled qualitatively if we assume a temperature dependent second harmonic term in the current-p…
We present noise measurements performed on a YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ nanoscale weak-link-based magnetometer consisting of a Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) galvanically coupled to a $3.5 \times 3.5~$mm$^2$ pick-up loop, reaching white flux noise levels and magnetic noise levels as low as $6~μΦ_0 / \sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ and $100$~fT/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ at $T=77$~K, respectively. The low noise is achieved by introducing Grooved Dayem Bridges (GDBs), a new concept of weak-link. A fabrication technique has been developed for the realization of nanoscale grooved bridges, which sub…
We use low-temperature scanning electron microscopy combined with SQUID detection of magnetic flux to image vortices and to investigate low-frequency flux noise in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ thin film SQUIDs. The low-frequency flux noise shows a nonlinear increase with magnetic cooling field up to 60 $μ$T. This effect is explained by the surface potential barrier at the SQUID hole. By correlating flux noise data with the spatial distribution of vortices, we obtain information on spatial fluctuations of vortices on a microscopic scale, e.g. an average vortex hopping length of approximately 10 nm.
YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ 24$^\circ$ (30$^\circ$) bicrystal grain boundary junctions (GBJs), shunted with 60\,nm (20\,nm) thick Au, were fabricated by focused ion beam milling with widths $80\,{\rm nm} \le w \le 7.8\,μ$m. At 4.2\,K we find critical current densities $j_c$ in the $10^5\,{\rm A/cm^2}$ range %\dkc{\#1} (without a clear dependence on $w$) and an increase in resistance times junction area $ρ$ with an approximate scaling $ρ\propto w^{1/2}$. For the narrowest GBJs $j_cρ\approx 100\,μ$V, which is promising for the realization of sensitive nanoSQUIDs for the detection of small spin systems. W…
The transport properties of a YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) based on grooved Dayem bridge weak links are studied as a function of temperature: at high temperatures ($60~$K$<T<T_\mathrm{c}=89$~K) the weak links show properties similar to SNS junctions, while at temperatures below 60~K the weak links behave like short Dayem bridges. Using these devices, we have fabricated SQUID magnetometers with galvanically coupled in-plane pick-up loops: at $T=77$~K, magnetic field white noise levels as low as $63$~fT/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ have been achieved.
We report on drastic change of vortex dynamics with increase of quenched disorder: for rather weak disorder we found a single vortex creep regime, which we attribute to a Bragg-glass phase, while for enhanced disorder we found an increase of both the depinning current and activation energy with magnetic field, which we attribute to entangled vortex phase. We also found that introduction of additional defects always increases the depinning current, but it increases activation energy only for elastic vortex creep, while it decreases activation energy for plastic vortex creep.
The effect of electron irradiation with the energy of 2.5 MeV on the temperature dependences of the resistivity of an optimally doped $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$ single crystal has been studied. The temperature dependences of both fluctuation conductivity $σ^\prime(T)$ and the pseudogap $Δ^*(T)$ on irradiation dose $ϕ$ have been calculated within the local pair model. Here we show that with an increase in $ϕ$, the value of $ρ(300 K)$ increases linearly, while $T_c$ decreases linearly. Concurrently, the value of $ρ{100 K}$ increases nonlinearly, demonstrating a feature for $ϕ_3$ = 4.3 10$^{18}$ e/$cm^2$…
We present a new experiment on YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-x} (YBCO) thin films using spatially resolved heavy ion irradiation. Structures consisting of a periodic array of strong and weak pinning channels were created with the help of metal masks. The channels formed an angle of +/-45 Deg with respect to the symmetry axis of the photolithographically patterned structures. Investigations of the anisotropic transport properties of these structures were performed. We found striking resemblance to guided vortex motion as it was observed in YBCO single crystals containing an array of unidirected twin boundaries…
We have investigated the electrodynamic properties of High-Tc strip-lines made by ion irradiation, in order to evaluate the potentialities of such a technology for RSFQ superconductor digital electronic. SQUID loops of different length and width have been fabricated by ion bombardment of 70 nm thick films through e-beam lithographied shadow masks, and measured at different temperatures. The voltage modulations have been recorded by direct injection of a control current in the SQUIDs arms. The corresponding line inductances have been measured and compared with 3D simulations. A quantitative agr…
The angular dependence of magnetic-field commensurability effects in thin films of the cuprate high-critical-temperature superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ (YBCO) with an artificial pinning landscape is investigated. Columns of point defects are fabricated by two different methods of ion irradiation -- scanning the focused 30 keV ion beam in a helium ion microscope or employing the wide-field 75 keV He$^+$ beam of an ion implanter through a stencil mask. Simulations of the ion-target interactions and the resulting collision cascades reveal that with both methods square arrays of defect …
We present a novel method, based on vortex imaging by low-temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM), to directly image the sheet-current distribution in YBa2Cu3O7 dc SQUID washers. We show that the LTSEM vortex signals are simply related to the scalar stream function describing the vortex-free circulating sheet-current distribution J. Unlike previous inversion methods that infer the current distribution from the measured magnetic field, our method uses pinned vortices as local detectors for J. Our experimental results are in very good agreement with numerical calculations of J.
A bulk polycrystalline sample of YBa_(2)Cu_(3)O_(7-δ) (δ\approx 0.1) has been irradiated by γ-rays with ^{60}Co source. Non-monotonic behavior of T_{c} with increasing irradiation dose Φ(up to 220 MR) is observed: T_{c} decreases at low doses (Φ< 50 MR) from initial value (\approx 93 K) by about 2 K and then rises, forming a minimum. At higher doses (Φ> 120 MR) T_{c} goes down again. The temperature width of resistive transition increases rather sharply with dose below 75 MR and drops somewhat at higher dose. The results observed are discussed, taking into account the granular structure of sam…
We have developed a masked ion irradiation technique to engineer the energy landscape for vortices in oxide superconductors. This approach associates the possibility to design the landscape geometry at the nanoscale with the unique capability to adjust depth of the energy wells for vortices. This enabled us to unveil the key role of vortex channeling in modulating the amplitude of the field matching effects with the artificial energy landscape, and to make the latter govern flux dynamics over an usually wide range of temperatures and applied fields.
We demonstrate that 3.5-MeV oxygen irradiation can markedly enhance the in-field critical current of commercial 2nd generation superconducting tapes with an exposure time of just one second per 0.8 cm2. The speed demonstrated here is now at the level required for an industrial reel-to-reel post-processing. The irradiation is made on production line samples through the protective silver coating and does not require any modification of the growth process. From TEM imaging, we identify small clusters as the main source of increased vortex pinning.
Superconducting Quantum Interference Filters (SQIFs) are arrays of superconducting loops of different sizes including Josephson Junctions (JJ). For a random distribution of sizes, they present a non-periodic response to an applied magnetic field, with an extended linear regime and a sizable field sensitivity. Such properties make SQIFs interesting devices to detect the magnetic component of electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies. We have used the highly scalable technique of ion irradiation to make High Tc SQUIDs and SQIFs based on commercial YBa2Cu3O7 films, and studied their properti…
A bulk polycrystalline sample of YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-δ} (δ\approx 0.1) has been irradiated by γ-rays with ^{60}Co source. Non-monotonic behavior of T_c (defined as the temperature at which normal resistance is halved) with increasing irradiation dose Φ(up to about 220 MR) is observed: T_c decreases at low doses (Φ\leq 50 MR) from initial value (\approx 93 K) by about 2 K and then rises, forming minimum. At highest doses (Φ\geq 120 MR) T_c goes down again. The temperature width, δT_c, of resistive transition increases rather sharp with dose below 75 MR and somewhat drops at higher dose. We believ…
The defect-rich morphology of YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ (YBCO) thin films leads to a glass-like arrangement of Abrikosov vortices which causes the resistance to disappear in vanishing current densities. This vortex glass consists of entangled vortex lines and is identified by a characteristic scaling of the voltage-current isotherms. Randomly distributed columnar defects stratify the vortex lines and lead to a Bose glass. Here, we report on the observation of an ordered Bose glass in a YBCO thin film with a hexagonal array of columnar defects with 30 nm spacings. The periodic pinning landscap…
We report on the fabrication and characterization of nanopatterned dc SQUIDs with grain boundary Josephson junctions based on heteroepitaxially grown YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ (YBCO)/ SiTrO$_3$ (STO) superlattices on STO bicrystal substrates. Nanopatterning is performed by Ga focused-ion-beam milling. The electric transport properties and thermal white flux noise of superlattice nanoSQUIDs are comparable to single layer YBCO devices on STO bicrystals. However, we find that the superlattice nanoSQUIDs have more than an order of magnitude smaller low-frequency excess flux noise, with root-mean-square s…
Thin superconducting YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ films are patterned with a vortex-pin lattice consisting of columnar defect regions (CDs) with 180 nm diameter and 300 nm spacing. They are fabricated by irradiation with 75 keV He$^+$ ions through a stencil mask. Peaks of the critical current reveal the commensurate trapping of vortices in domains near the edges of the sample. Upon ramping an external magnetic field, the positions of the critical current peaks are shifted from their equilibrium values to lower magnetic fields in virgin and to higher fields in field-saturated down-sweep curves, r…
We present SQUID susceptibility data on Zn and Ni substituted YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6+x}. Cross-checks with NMR yield an unprecedented accuracy in the estimate of the magnetic susceptibility associated with the substituants, from the underdoped to the lightly overdoped case. This allows us to determine the Weiss temperature θfor YBCO: its value is very small for all hole dopings n_h. Since in conventional metals, the Kondo temperature, $T_{K}<θ$, magnetic screening effects would not be expected for $T\gg θ$; in contrast, increasing n_h produces a reduction of the small moment induced by Zn^{2+} and …
Magnetic fields penetrate a type-II superconductor as magnetic flux quanta, called vortices. In a clean superconductor they arrange in a hexagonal lattice, while by adding periodic artificial pinning centers many other arrangements can be realized. Using the focused beam of a helium ion microscope we have fabricated periodic patterns of dense pinning centers with spacings as small as 70 nm in thin films of the cuprate superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$. In these ultradense kagomé-like patterns, the voids lead to magnetic caging of vortices, resulting in unconventional commensurability e…
We present a detailed analysis of voltage-flux V(Phi)-characteristics for asymmetric dc SQUIDs with various kinds of asymmetries. For finite asymmetry alpha_I in the critical currents of the two Josephson junctions, the minima in the V(Phi)-characteristics for bias currents of opposite polarity are shifted along the flux axis by Delta_Phi = (alpha_I)*(beta_L) relative to each other; beta_L is the screening parameter. This simple relation allows the determination of alpha_I in our experiments on YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-x} dc SQUIDs and comparison with theory. Extensive numerical simulations within a wide…
YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ coated conductors (CCs) have achieved high critical current densities ($\textit{J}_{c}$) that can be further increased through the introduction of additional defects using particle irradiation. However, these gains are accompanied by increases in the flux creep rate, a manifestation of competition between the different types of defects. Here, we study this competition to better understand how to design pinning landscapes that simultaneously increase $\textit{J}_{c}$ and reduce creep. CCs grown by metal organic deposition show non-monotonic changes in the temperature-…
Temperature-dependent London penetration depth, $λ(T)$, of a high quality optimally-doped $\text{YBa}_{2}\text{Cu}_{3}\text{O}_{7-δ}$ single crystal was measured using tunnel-diode resonator. Controlled artificial disorder was induced at low-temperature of 20~K by 2.5 MeV electron irradiation at accumulating large doses of $3.8\times10^{19}$ and $5.3\times10^{19}$ electrons per $\textrm{cm}^{2}$. The irradiation caused significant suppression of the superconductor's critical temperature, $T_{c}$, from 94.6 K to 90.0 K, and then to 78.7 K, respectively. The low-temperature behavior of $λ\left(T…
The influence of irradiation by electrons with energies of $0.5-2.5$\,MeV at temperatures of about $10$\,K on the basal-plane resistivity of the YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ single crystals is investigated in the range from $T_c$ to $300$\,K. The resistivity temperature dependence is determined by defects arising due to the irradiation. These defects directly affect the superconducting transition, decreasing $T_c$ and increasing the transition width without significant distortions of its shape. The resulting defects also lead to an increase in the Debye temperature due to a reduction of the anisotro…
The in-field critical current of commercial YBa2Cu3O7 coated conductors can be substantially enhanced by post-fabrication irradiation with 4 MeV protons. Irradiation to a fluence of 8x10^16 p/cm^2 induces a near doubling of the critical current in fields of 6 T || c at a temperature of 27 K, a field and temperature range of interest for applications such as rotating machinery. A mixed pinning landscape of preexisting precipitates and twin boundaries and small, finely dispersed irradiation induced defects may account for the improved vortex pinning in high magnetic fields. Our data indicate tha…
Josephson transport in YBa${}_{2}$Cu${}_{3}$O${}_{7}$ weak links created by focused-helium-ion-beam irradiation: Analysis based on diffusive-SNS-junction model
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology（日本产业技术综合研究所）
We have investigated the zero-field critical supercurrent of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ bridges patterned from 50 nm thick films as a function of bridge width, ranging from 2 $μ$m to 50 nm. The critical current density monotonically increases for decreasing bridge width even for widths smaller than the Pearl length. This behavior is accounted for by considering current crowding effects at the junction between the bridge and the wider electrodes. Comparison to numerical calculations of the current distributions in our bridge geometries of various widths yields a (local) critical current density at …
We report measurements of transfer functions and flux shifts of 20 on-chip high T$_C$ DC SQUIDs half of which were made purposely geometrically asymmetric. All of these SQUIDs were fabricated using standard high T$_C$ thin film technology and they were single layer ones, having 140 nm thickness of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ film deposited by laser ablation onto MgO bicrystal substrates with 24$^0$ misorientation angle. For every SQUID the parameters of its intrinsic asymmetry, i. e., the density of critical current and resistivity of every junction, were measured directly and independently. We sho…
We discuss recent experiments in which fine particles of the organic superconductor Rb$_3$C$_{60}$ or the cuprate superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ are held in a polystyrene film that is spin-coated on to a silicon substrate with or without an intervening gold, or another inert metallic layer. From SQUID magnetisation data for Rb$_3$C$_{60}$ there appears to be a striking and completely unexpected increase in the superconducting transition temperature from $30$ to $45$~K, which is ascribed to coupling between the electrons in the superconductor and vacuum fluctuations in the electromagneti…
A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) comprising 0- and $π$-Josephson junctions (JJs), called $π$-SQUID, is studied by the resistively shunted junction model. The $π$-SQUID shows half-integer Shapiro-steps (SS) under microwave irradiation at the voltage $V$ = $(\hbar/2e)Ω(n/2)$, with angular frequency $Ω$ and half-integer $n$/2 in addition to integer $n$. We show that the $π$-SQUID can be a $π$-qubit with spontaneous loop currents by which the half-integer SS are induced. Making the 0- and $π$-JJs equivalent is a key for the half-integer SS and realizing the $π$-qubit.
Inductance is a key parameter when optimizing the performance of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers made from the high temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ (YBCO) because lower SQUID inductance $L$ leads to lower flux noise, but also weaker coupling to the pickup loop. In order to optimize the SQUID design, we combine inductance simulations and measurements to extract the different inductance contributions, and measure the dependence of the transfer function $V_Φ$ and flux noise $S_Φ^{1/2}$ on $L$. A comparison between two samples shows that the kine…
Tailoring the properties of YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ thin films by 30 keV He$^+$ irradiation: An enabling route to superconducting device nanopatterning
University of Vienna（维也纳大学）；Universität Tübingen, Physikalisches Institut, Center for Quantum Science (CQ) and LISA +（蒂宾根大学物理学院，量子科学中心（CQ）和LISA+）
We have fabricated arrays of High-T$_c$ Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) with randomly distributed loop sizes as sensitive antennas for Radio-Frequency (RF) waves. These sub-wavelength size devices known as Superconducting Quantum Interference Filters (SQIFs) detect the magnetic component of the electromagnetic field. We use a scalable ion irradiation technique to pattern the circuits and engineer the Josephson junctions needed to make SQUIDs. Here we report on a 300 SQUIDs series array with loops area ranging from $6$ to $60\ μm^{2}$, folded in a meander line covering a $…
Reproducible High Tc Josephson junctions have been made in a rather simple two-step process using ion irradiation. A microbridge 1 to 5 micrometers wide is firstly designed by ion irradiating a c-axis-oriented YBa2Cu3O7 film through a gold mask such as the unprotected part becomes insulating. A lower Tc part is then defined within the bridge by irradiating with a much lower dose through a 20 nm wide narrow slit opened in a standard electronic photoresist. These planar junctions, whose settings can be finely tuned, exhibit reproducible and nearly ideal Josephson characteristics. Non hysteretic …
Irradiation of cuprate high-$T_c$ superconductors with light ions of moderate energy creates point defects that lead to a reduction or full suppression of the critical temperature. By shaping the ion flux with a stencil mask, nanostructures for emerging superconducting electronics can be fabricated. The 3-dimensional shape of such defect landscapes is examined, based on calculations of full collision cascades and atom displacements. A relation between the calculated defect density and experimental values of the critical temperature $T_c$ in thin YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ films is etablished that …
We highlight the reproducibility and level of control over the electrical properties of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ Josephson junctions fabricated with irradiation from a focused helium ion beam. Specifically, we show the results of electrical transport properties for several junctions fabricated using a large range of irradiation doses. At the lower end of this range, junctions exhibit superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) Josephson junction properties. However, as dose increases there is a transition to electrical characteristics consistent with superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS…
As the quantum generation of electronics takes the stage, a cast of important support electronics is needed to connect these novel devices to our classical worlds. In the case of superconducting electronics, this is a challenge because the Josephson junction devices they are based upon require tiny current pulses to create and manipulate the single flux quanta which guide their operation. Difficulty arises in transitioning these signals through large temperature gradients for connection to semiconductor components. In this work, we present nano superconducting quantum interference devices (SQU…
It is shown that the large effect of heavy ion-irradiation on the thermodynamical properties of the anisotropic superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ extends well into the superconducting fluctuation regime. The presence of the induced amorphous columnar defects shifts the specific heat maximum at the normal-to-superconducting transition. This effect is similar to that recently put into evidence in cubic K$_{x}$Ba$_{1-x}$BiO$_{3}$ ($x \simeq 0.35$). In both compounds, vortex pinning manifests itself as a sharp angular dependence of the \em equilibrium \rm torque. In YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-…
Reproducible high-Tc Josephson junctions have been made in a rather simple two-step process using ion irradiation. A microbridge (1 to 5 ?m wide) is firstly designed by ion irradiating a c-axis-oriented YBa2Cu3O7-? film through a gold mask such as the non-protected part becomes insulating. A lower Tc part is then defined within the bridge by irradiating with a much lower fluence through a narrow slit (20 nm) opened in a standard electronic photoresist. These planar junctions, whose settings can be finely tuned, exhibit reproducible and nearly ideal Josephson characteristics. This process can b…
Dynamic states offer extended possibilities to control the properties of quantum matter. Recent efforts are focused on studying the ordered states which appear exclusively under the time-dependent drives. Here we demonstrate a class of systems which feature dynamic spin-triplet superconducting order stimulated by the alternating electric field. The effect is based on the interplay of ferromagnetism, interfacial spin-orbital coupling (SOC) and the condensate motion driven by the field, which converts hidden static p-wave order, produced by the joint action of the ferromagnetism and the SOC, int…
Machine-Learned Interatomic Potentials for Structural and Defect Properties of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$
Politecnico di Torino（都灵理工大学）；Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino（意大利国家核物理研究所都灵分部）；Lancaster University（兰卡斯特大学）；University of Helsinki（赫尔辛基大学）；Eni S.p.A.（埃尼集团）；United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority（英国原子能管理局）
Superconducting Quantum Interference Filters (SQIF) are promising devices for Radio- Frequency (RF) detection combining low noise, high sensitivity, large dynamic range and wide-band capabilities. Impressive progress have been made recently in the field, with SQIF based antennas and amplifiers showing interesting properties in the GHz range using the well-established Nb/AlOx technology. The possibility to extend these results to High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) is still open, and different techniques to fabricate HTS SQIFs are competing to make RF devices. We report on the DC and RF resp…
Intermodulation distortion (IMD) of microwave signals incident upon a superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 thin film sample on a LaAlO3 substrate is shown to relax as the sample magnetization also relaxes, revealing the signature of fluxon decay in the microwave distortion. The sample contained a microchannel of columnar defects that was introduced using heavy ion beam irradiation. After exposure to and then removal of a low strength static magnetic field, IMD relaxed due to thermal activation of fluxons over the surface barrier. This process influenced second and third order IMD differently, visible in …
We demonstrate the operation of low-noise nano superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) based on the high critical field and high critical temperature superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$ (YBCO) as ultra-sensitive magnetometers for single magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). The nanoSQUIDs exploit the Josephson behavior of YBCO grain boundaries and have been patterned by focused ion beam milling. This allows to precisely define the lateral dimensions of the SQUIDs so as to achieve large magnetic coupling between the nanoloop and individual MNPs. By means of focused electron beam induced de…
Since the discovery of the unconventional copper-oxide high-transition-temperature superconductors (HTS), researchers have explored many methods to fabricate superconducting tunnel junctions from these materials for both superconducting electronics operating at the practical temperature of liquid nitrogen (77 K) and for fundamental measurements essential for testing and guiding theories of these remarkable superconductors. The difficulty is that the traditional estimate of the superconducting coherence length is very short and anisotropic in these materials, typically ~2 nm in the a-b plane an…
The Josephson junction (JJ) is the corner stone of superconducting electronics and quantum information processing. While the technology for fabricating low $T_{c}$ JJ is mature and delivers quantum circuits able to reach the "quantum supremacy", the fabrication of reproducible and low-noise high-$T_{c}$ JJ is still a challenge to be taken up. Here we report on noise properties at RF frequencies of recently introduced high-$T_{c}$ Josephson nano-junctions fabricated by mean of a Helium ion beam focused at sub-nanometer scale on a $\mathrm{YBa}_2\mathrm{Cu}_3\mathrm{O}_7$ thin film. We show that…
