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IEEE Transactions on Magnetics

Toroidal DC SQUIDs with point-contact junctions

Ho Jung Paik, R.H. Mathews, Maria Gabriella Castellano

Published Jan 1, 1981• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The well-developed technique of a toroidal point-contact rf SQUID has been extended to a dc SQUID. Two point-contacts are made on the symmetry axis of the toroid. A large Nb cavity containing a signal coil is connected to the junctions via a narrow gap. Such geometry allows good coupling of the SQUID to a high-inductance signal coil without increasing the effective SQUID inductance at the Josephson frequency. It is expected that both the shot-noise-limit performance and a high signal coupling will be achieved in this SQUID. We discuss the status of design and the result of preliminary test of the device.

DOI
10.1109/tmag.1981.1060903

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The dynamics of the dc-SQUID in the presence of a signal coil was studied. The signal coil creates an additive parasitic capacitance between the junctions and its self-resonance imports new features to the SQUID dynamics. Our results suggest that if a SQUID with smooth characteristics and low noise properties is desired, all the resonances present in the SQUID ring or in the flux coupling circuit should be damped properly. Low attenuation yields a system with high gain but with higher excess noise. On the other hand, heavy damping of the device yields low gain and a high noise level and thus a compromise is necessary.

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Applied Physics Letters•Oct 2, 1989•45 citations
The well-developed technique of a toroidal point-contact rf SQUID has been extended to a dc SQUID. Two point-contacts are made on the symmetry axis of the toroid. A large Nb cavity containing a signal coil is connected to the junctions via a narrow gap. Such geometry allows good coupling of the SQUID to a high-inductance signal coil without increasing the effective SQUID inductance at the Josephson frequency. It is expected that both the shot-noise-limit performance and a high signal coupling will be achieved in this SQUID. We discuss the status of design and the result of preliminary test of the device.
A low-noise coupled DC superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) especially optimized for low frequency is discussed. Using large Josephson junctions and a low loop inductance the contribution of the critical current fluctuation to 1/f noise can be minimized. To minimize the inductance the Josephson junctions are placed in the center of the washer close to the SQUID loop. A scaled-up copper model of the SQUID and the signal coil is used to analyze the impedance of the SQUID loop affected by the signal coil. An equivalent circuit model describing the effective inductance of the SQUID loop as a function of the frequency is used to design appropriate damping of the resonances. The DC SQUID characteristics are smooth and the noise performance of the SQUID does not markedly suffer from resonances. The contribution of the 1/f noise at 1 Hz is found to be about 5*10/sup -7/ Phi /sub 0// square root Hz.>
The operation and noise limitations of de and RF SQUID's are outlined, and recent advances in their sensitivity are discussed. A model of the dc SQUID predicts an energy noise level per hertz referred to the SQUID of approximately8 k_{B}TL/R \approx 8 k_{B}T(\piLC)^{1/2}, whereL, R,andCare the SQUID inductance and the shunt resistance and capacitance of each Josephson junction. Some examples of dc SQUID's are described to show that their performance is generally in reasonable agreement with the model. The noise energy has improved from about 2 × 10-30J. Hz-1for a device withL = 1nH and a tunnel junction area of 104µm2to about 2 × 10-33J . Hz-1for a device withL = 0.1nH and a microbridge resistance of 40 Ω. Further improvements axe expected in the near future. The model of the RF SQUID predicts a noise energy per hertz referred to the SQUID of[(\pi\alpha^{2}\phi\min{0}\max{2}/2L) + 2 \pi \alpha k_{B}T\min{a}\max{(eff)}]/\omega_{RF}, where α is the intrinsic width of the distribution of flux transitions,T\min{a}\max{(eff)}is an effective amplifier noise temperature, and ωRFis the pump frequency. With one exception, the performance of the seven types of RF SQUID listed is in reasonable agreement with the model. The noise energy ranges from about 1.5 × 10-29J . Hz-1for a 20-MHz toroidal SQUID to 3.5 × 10-31J . Hz-1for 9-GHz reentrant toroidal SQUID; a somewhat better sensitivity has been reported for a 430-MHz device, apparently in conflict with the theory. In both dc and RF SQUID's, 1/fnoise (fis frequency) is likely to extend to higher frequencies as the white-noise level is decreased.
The goal of this studies is to use dc Squids as low noise radiofrequency amplifier (Tn ≈1K) in the frequency range 1-150 Mhz and to integrate them in NMR probe. DC Squids have been built using planar technology and with two types of superconducting materials : low Tc(Nb) and High Tc(YBa2Cu3O7). Contrary to the traditional set up used in magnetometry (flux locked loop) the dc Squid is here fluxed biased near Φz=(2n+1)Φo/4 and no flux locked loop is connected. Small variations of flux (Φs<<Φo) introduced from signal source via the input coil are amplified following the transfer characteristic VΦ=dV/dΦ. The low Tc devices are set up to now the best, concerning the reproducibility and the qualities of the Josephson Junctions obtained with a three layer process Nb/Al-Al2O3/Nb. Such junctions have been realized following the so called SNOP process, without anodization. The main characteristic obtained at 4.2K are RJ/RN=10, 2Δ≈2.8 meV and a Josephson current density J≈103 A/cm2. The high Tc devices have been built with bi-epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 junctions and with a 30x30µm2 area loop. I(V) and V(Φ) characteristics curves obtained are promizing for applications as RF detection in the temperature range : 4-77K. Modelization studies are currently in progress for the optimization of those devices (low Tc and high Tc) as RF amplifiers (minimization of parasitic capacitance between the input coil and the Squid loop) in order to increase their upper frequency limit.\n* This work is partially supported by Ultimatech (CNRS), by the "région Rhône-Alpes" and E.E.C. "HTSC-GBJ" programs n°7100.
We present a new superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) that combines ultra-low-noise performance with tight coupling to a useable input coil. The inductive loop of the SQUID consists of a superconducting square washer that is slit in a low inductance fashion from its central hole to an outside edge where two Josephson tunnel junctions are incorporated. The inductance of the SQUID is about 90 pH, and each junction has a critical current of 15 μA and a resistive shunt of 4.5 Ω. The 190-nH input coil is a planar spiral of 50 turns situated immediately above the washer and coupled to the SQUID with a coupling constant k2 of 0.86. The SQUID has a minimum coupled energy sensitivity of 19h at 4.2 K and 8h at 1.5 K, in good agreement with theory. The crossover between white and low frequency noise occurs at ∼250 Hz.
The dynamics of the dc-SQUID in the presence of a signal coil was studied. The signal coil creates an additive parasitic capacitance between the junctions and its self-resonance imports new features to the SQUID dynamics. Our results suggest that if a SQUID with smooth characteristics and low noise properties is desired, all the resonances present in the SQUID ring or in the flux coupling circuit should be damped properly. Low attenuation yields a system with high gain but with higher excess noise. On the other hand, heavy damping of the device yields low gain and a high noise level and thus a compromise is necessary.
We have fabricated and characterized the noise performance of well-coupled Nb-Pb alloy edge junction dc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with a resistively shunted inductance. The extra damping resistor removes the resonances in the current-voltage characteristics resulting in a very low value of the extrinsic energy sensitivity in flux-locked-loop operation. Numerical simulations, with the junction capacitance included, indicate that the damping resistance does not degrade noise performance until it is significantly less than the junction-shunting resistance. We also tested different SQUID designs and demonstrated that a large SQUID inductance, proposed earlier to be desirable when resistively shunted, can seriously affect the low-frequency flux noise.