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Journal of Applied Physics

Preparation of overdamped NbTiN Josephson junctions with bilayered Ti–TiN barriers

Hirotake Yamamori, Hitoshi Sasaki, Satoshi Kohjiro

Published Dec 1, 2010• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Overdamped NbTiN Josephson junctions with Ti–TiN bilayered normal-metal barrier are proposed for metrological applications. Binary arrays consisting of 32 768 NbTiN/Ti–TiN/NbTiN junctions were fabricated for quantum voltage standards, and a Shapiro step at 1 V with the step height of about 0.5 mA was generated at around 8 K. The Ti layer was added to protect the base NbTiN electrode from nitrogen plasma during the deposition of the TiN layer. While the critical current Ic and the junction resistance Rn are mainly dominated by the thickness of the TiN barrier, Ic can be also adjusted by changing the thickness of the Ti barrier to maximize the operating margin for voltage standard circuits. An optimization of the NbTiN film in terms of film stress is also described for fabrication of circuits containing such a large number of junctions.

DOI
10.1063/1.3517475

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Overdamped NbTiN Josephson junctions with Ti–TiN bilayered normal-metal barrier are proposed for metrological applications. Binary arrays consisting of 32 768 NbTiN/Ti–TiN/NbTiN junctions were fabricated for quantum voltage standards, and a Shapiro step at 1 V with the step height of about 0.5 mA was generated at around 8 K. The Ti layer was added to protect the base NbTiN electrode from nitrogen plasma during the deposition of the TiN layer. While the critical current Ic and the junction resistance Rn are mainly dominated by the thickness of the TiN barrier, Ic can be also adjusted by changing the thickness of the Ti barrier to maximize the operating margin for voltage standard circuits. An optimization of the NbTiN film in terms of film stress is also described for fabrication of circuits containing such a large number of junctions.
Optimization of the performance of Nb-based overdamped Josephson junctions for applications to superconducting electronics is a major issue today. The use of cryocoolers, thus avoiding liquid helium refrigeration, with junctions working at temperatures higher than 4.2 K, could greatly increase the use of these devices in applications such as fundamental metrology and measurement sensors. The question we address here is how to maximize the characteristic voltage and minimize the temperature influence on the current-voltage curves of overdamped junctions enabling their use at T > 4.2K. To optimize the properties of a single Josephson heterostructure, we propose a type of overdamped junction that consists of a relatively thin insulating layer and a thick (tens of nm) normal-metal film between two superconducting electrodes. Measurements of the dependence of the critical current and characteristic voltage as function of temperature for dierent electrodes configurations show how it is possible to improve the design of these junctions.
We have fabricated NbTiN/Al-AlNX/NbTiN Josephson tunnel junctions on thermally oxidized Si substrates for their applications to single-flux-quantum circuits operating around 10 K. NbTiN films with a critical temperature Tcof 14.2 K and a root-mean-square value of their surface roughness of 0.45 nm were used as junction electrodes. For a junction barrier, radical-nitrided AlNXwas used to realize high uniformity in the critical current Icof the junctions. We obtained NbTiN junctions with a gap voltage Vg of 4.3 mV and an IcRn. product of 2.6 mV at 4.2 K, where R. is the junction resistance. The critical current density Jc, at 4.2 K was obtained in the range between 0.2 and 6.2 kA/cm2by changing a nitridation time for the AlNXbarrier formation. A series array of 200 junctions with an area of 10 μm × 10 μm exhibited a small I', spread, and the standard deviation 1-σ in Icuniformity was less than 1.6% in the temperature range between 4 K and 10 K.
Superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) junctions are well-suited for large-scale integrated superconducting circuits. Potential applications are programmable voltage standards, digital-to-analog converters and large-scale RSFQ circuits. The application of SNS junctions provides some advantages, e.g. a simplified fabrication technology and reduced parasitic inductances. But it requires a technological process with dimensions down to the submicrometer region to achieve sufficiently high characteristic voltages I/sub C/R/sub N/. In our process the normal metal interlayer is titanium. Therefore the sidewall insulation of the junctions can be made by anodization, as it is known from the Nb-Al technology. Nb-Ti-Nb Josephson junctions and junction arrays were fabricated down to the submicrometer range with I/sub C/R/sub N/ values up to 87 microvolt depending on the titanium thickness. Their measured critical currents have a small spread of about 10 percent. Shapiro steps are observed under the influence of microwave irradiation. For the application of such junctions in a programmable Josephson voltage standard a new type of microwave circuit using coplanar strips is proposed and successfully tested in 10 V SIS circuits.
Self-Shunted NbN Junctions With NbNx/AlN{\rm NbN}_{x}/{\rm AlN}NbNx​/AlN Bilayered Barriers for 4 K Operation
We report the fabrication and electrical characteristics of self-shunted Josephson junctions consisting of NbN electrodes, an AlN barrier, and an NbNx normal layer for an SFQ circuit application. To fabricate such junctions with a high characteristic voltage V c, we have studied their preparation conditions including the surface treatments of MgO substrates. Junction characteristics at 4 K were dependent on the electrical properties and film thickness of the NbNx layer; the underdamped junctions changed into overdamped ones with an increase in the film thickness. The overdamped junctions showed a characteristic voltage Vc of 0.8 mV and a critical current density Jc of 22 A/cm2 at 4.2 K.
All NbN Josephson junctions with polycrystalline NbN films for both electrodes and barriers have been fabricated and their microwave characteristics for a quantum voltage standard were investigated. A superconductor and a normal metal were prepared by changing the partial pressure of N2during the rf sputter deposition of NbN films. For the Josephson junctions normal resistance was controlled by changing the partial pressure of N2during the NbNxbarrier deposition, and critical current was controlled by changing barrier thickness. As a result, it was found that the product of current and normal resistance can be optimized to maximize the current range of the constant-voltage step for quantum voltage standards.
Single nonhysteretic superconductor-metal-superconductor Josephson junctions consisting of Nb-Ti-Nb were prepared using the well-known anodization process for the isolation of the junctions. The 4×4 μm2 junctions show overdamped Josephson current-voltage characteristics at 4.2 K. The characteristic voltage IcRn is about 8.0 μV at a critical current density jc of about 29 kA/cm2. Under the influence of 10.5 GHz microwave irradiation the constant-voltage steps of n=0 and ±1 are observed with current amplitudes of about 3 mA.