High-Tc microbridge superconductor device utilizing stepped edge-to-edge sns junction

• Main Authors: DIIORIO, MARK S, YOSHIZUMI, SHOZO, YANG, KAI-YUEH
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 29.07.1992
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; COMPOUNDS CONTAINING METALS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSESC01D OR C01F; ELECTRICITY; INORGANIC CHEMISTRY; MEASURING; MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES; METALLURGY; PHYSICS; TESTING

A microbridge superconductor device includes a substrate (26), made of a material such as LaAlO3, having a lower planar substrate surface (40), an inclined surface (42) having an overall upward inclination of from about 20 to about 80 degrees from the plane of the lower planar substrate surface (40), and an upper planar substrate surface (44) parallel to the lower planar substrate surface and separated from the lower planar substrate surface by the inclined surface. A layer of a c-axis oriented superconductor material (50), made of a material such as YBa2Cu3O7-x, is epitaxially deposited on the lower planar substrate surface, and has an exposed a-axis edge adjacent the intersection of the lower planar substrate surface with the inclined surface. The a-axis exposed edge is beveled away from the intersection. A layer of a c-axis oriented superconductor material (52) is epitaxially deposited on the upper planar substrate surface, and has an exposed a-axis edge adjacent the inclined surface. A gap (62) lies between the two a-axis exposed edges. A layer of a non-superconductor material (60), such as silver, lies in the gap between the two exposed a-axis edges, thereby defining a SNS superconductor microbridge device. The layers of superconductor material are preferably patterned to form a Josephson junction device such as a superconducting quantum interference device.