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arXiv:1603.08466 · Superconductor Science and Technology

Josephson oscillation linewidth of ion-irradiated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 junctions

A Sharafiev, M. Malnou, C. Feuillet-Palma, C. Ulysse, Pascal Febvre, Jérôme Lesueur, N. Bergeal

Published May 17, 2016• 10 citations
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Abstract

Abstract We report on the noise properties of ion-irradiated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 Josephson junctions. This work aims at investigating the linewidth of the Josephson oscillation with a detector response experiment at ≃132 GHz. Experimental results are compared with a simple analytical model based on the Likharev–Semenov equation and the de Gennes dirty limit approximation. We show that the main source of low-frequency fluctuations in these junctions is the broadband Johnson noise and that the excess 1 f noise contribution does not prevail in the temperature range of interest, as reported in some other types of high- T c superconducting Josephson junctions. Finally, we discuss the interest of ion-irradiated junctions to implement frequency-tunable oscillators consisting of synchronized arrays of Josephson junctions.

DOI
10.1088/0953-2048/29/7/074001

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The subject of electronic noise in high- superconducting Josephson devices and in their applications is considered. Several types of grain boundary junctions, prepared in different ways by four separate international laboratories, are fully characterized in terms of their electrical and noise properties at a range of temperatures, frequencies, magnetic fields and in the presence of microwaves. Similar characterization is carried out for multijunction Josephson flux-flow arrays, and bi-epitaxial SQUIDs. The theory of Likharev and Semenov for thermal noise in low- junctions is adopted as a reference against which excess noise can be identified in high- junctions. It is combined with theoretical models of excess noise based on fluctuations of critical current and resistance to provide accurate fitting of the observed noise curves. It is shown that the normalized levels of critical current and normal resistance fluctuations for all of the junction types examined are remarkably close (typically around and at 100 Hz) and are nearly independent of temperature in the range T = 30 - 80 K. The frequency dependence is close to the universal 1/f law with some deviations due to trapping of charge carriers at discrete states in the tunnelling barrier. Measurements of voltage noise levels and critical current fluctuations in multijunction flux-flow amplifiers, reported for the first time, are consistent with levels in single junctions of the same type. Excess noise is studied as a function of external magnetic field, in a way that has not been previously described. A new interpretation of the magnetic field-dependent noise data indicates that absolute levels of critical current fluctuations are nearly independent of applied magnetic field. This observation does not appear to have been reported elsewhere. It has important implications for the operation of grain boundary Josephson devices in real applications. Voltage noise in the presence of microwave irradiation, at operating points between Shapiro steps, is consistent with a modified form of the Likharev - Semenov equation which takes into account the known level of critical current fluctuations as measured in field-free conditions. The implications of these results for further improvements in device performance are discussed, and directions for further work are suggested.

Superconductor Science and Technology•Aug 1, 1996•34 citations
Abstract We report on the noise properties of ion-irradiated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 Josephson junctions. This work aims at investigating the linewidth of the Josephson oscillation with a detector response experiment at ≃132 GHz. Experimental results are compared with a simple analytical model based on the Likharev–Semenov equation and the de Gennes dirty limit approximation. We show that the main source of low-frequency fluctuations in these junctions is the broadband Johnson noise and that the excess 1 f noise contribution does not prevail in the temperature range of interest, as reported in some other types of high- T c superconducting Josephson junctions. Finally, we discuss the interest of ion-irradiated junctions to implement frequency-tunable oscillators consisting of synchronized arrays of Josephson junctions.
Abstract 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 YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 thin film. We show that their current-voltage characteristics follow the standard Resistively-Shunted-Junction (RSJ) circuit model, and that their characteristic frequency f c = (2 e / h ) I c R n reaches ~300 GHz at low temperature. Using the “detector response” method, we evidence that the Josephson oscillation linewidth is only limited by the thermal noise in the RSJ model for temperature ranging from T ~ 20 K to 75 K. At lower temperature and for the highest He irradiation dose, the shot noise contribution must also be taken into account when approaching the tunneling regime. We conclude that these Josephson nano-junctions present the lowest noise level possible, which makes them very promising for future applications in the microwave and terahertz regimes.
The AC Josephson effect in YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ grain-boundary junctions (GBJs) was studied in the temperature range from 4 K to 90 K. The temperature dependence of the linewidth of millimeter-wave Josephson oscillations was measured, and it is shown that the derived effective noise temperature of GBJ might be as low as the physical temperature in the temperature range investigated. This makes it possible to use the resistively shunted junction (RSJ) model with thermal fluctuations to get a limiting performance of high-T/sub c/ devices utilizing the AC Josephson effect. The lowest value of the linewidth of 72 GHz Josephson oscillations observed at 77 K was equal to 380 MHz, which demonstrates the applicability of GBJ, particularly in the field of radiation spectroscopy, even at liquid nitrogen temperatures.>
We have investigated the Josephson radiation from different types of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (YBCO) thin-film Josephson junctions: step-edge junctions (SEJs), biepitaxial junctions and SNS junctions with N=Au. The radiation was detected using a non-resonant radiometer system with a receiving frequency of 11-12 GHz. The current-voltage characteristics were measured simultaneously with the radiation spectra in the temperature range 4.2-90 K. All junctions exhibited a large emission peak at a voltage which was related to the frequency through the second Josephson relation. Typically, for high temperatures, and therefore small critical currents, the measured radiation linewidth agreed well with the theoretical predictions. At lower temperatures the experimental linewidths deviated from the theoretical values due to additional noise sources in the junctions. Some of the SEJs showed a non-monotonic dependence of the linewidth on temperature. It is suggested that such SEJ data may be discussed in terms of a model which treats the SEJ as an interferometer consisting of a parallel array of random Josephson junctions.
We have investigated the Josephson radiation from different types of YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) thin film junctions: step-edge (SEJ), biepitaxial, and superconductor-normal conductor- superconductor (SNS) with N=Au and PrBa2Cu3O7. The radiation was detected using a nonresonant radiometer system with a receiving frequency of 11-12 GHz. The current-voltage characteristics were measured simultaneously with the radiation spectra in the temperature range from 4.2 to 90 K. All junctions exhibited a large emission peak at a voltage which was related to the frequency through the second Josephson relation. Typically, for high temperatures, and, therefore, small critical currents, the experimental data of the radiation linewidth agreed well with the theoretical predictions of the RSJ model. At lower temperatures the experimental linewidths deviated from the theoretical values due to additional noise sources in the junctions. Some of the SEJs showed a nonmonotonic dependence of the linewidth on temperature. Such SEJ data will be discussed in terms of a model which treats the SEJ as an interferometer consisting of a parallel array of Josephson junctions.
Ion-irradiated YBa2_22​Cu3_33​O7_77​ Josephson arrays
We designed, fabricated and tested short one dimensional arrays of masked ion-irradiated YBa2_22​Cu3_33​O7_77​ Josephson junctions (JJ) embedded into log-periodic spiral antennas. Our arrays consist of 4 or 8 junctions separated either by 960~nm or 80~nm long areas of undamaged YBCO. Samples with distanced junctions and with closely spaced junctions showed qualitatively different behaviors. Well separated arrays demonstrated giant Shapiro steps in the hundreds-GHz band at 66K and were tested as Josephson mixers with improved impedance matching. All closely spaced arrays behaved as one junction with a lower superconducting transition temperature, hence forming a single weak link on distances up to 880~nm. Such design opens a new way to increase the Ic_{c}c​RN_{N}N​ product of ion-irradiated junctions and we speculate that the phenomena and physics behind it might be similar to the so-called "giant" Josephson coupling observed in cuprates.
The subject of electronic noise in high- superconducting Josephson devices and in their applications is considered. Several types of grain boundary junctions, prepared in different ways by four separate international laboratories, are fully characterized in terms of their electrical and noise properties at a range of temperatures, frequencies, magnetic fields and in the presence of microwaves. Similar characterization is carried out for multijunction Josephson flux-flow arrays, and bi-epitaxial SQUIDs. The theory of Likharev and Semenov for thermal noise in low- junctions is adopted as a reference against which excess noise can be identified in high- junctions. It is combined with theoretical models of excess noise based on fluctuations of critical current and resistance to provide accurate fitting of the observed noise curves. It is shown that the normalized levels of critical current and normal resistance fluctuations for all of the junction types examined are remarkably close (typically around and at 100 Hz) and are nearly independent of temperature in the range T = 30 - 80 K. The frequency dependence is close to the universal 1/f law with some deviations due to trapping of charge carriers at discrete states in the tunnelling barrier. Measurements of voltage noise levels and critical current fluctuations in multijunction flux-flow amplifiers, reported for the first time, are consistent with levels in single junctions of the same type. Excess noise is studied as a function of external magnetic field, in a way that has not been previously described. A new interpretation of the magnetic field-dependent noise data indicates that absolute levels of critical current fluctuations are nearly independent of applied magnetic field. This observation does not appear to have been reported elsewhere. It has important implications for the operation of grain boundary Josephson devices in real applications. Voltage noise in the presence of microwave irradiation, at operating points between Shapiro steps, is consistent with a modified form of the Likharev - Semenov equation which takes into account the known level of critical current fluctuations as measured in field-free conditions. The implications of these results for further improvements in device performance are discussed, and directions for further work are suggested.