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Josephson Junctions with Ferromagnetic Interlayer

G. Wild

Published Jan 1, 2012• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We report on the fabrication of superconductor/insulator/ferromagnetic metal/superconductor (Nb/AlOx/PdNi/Nb) π-Josephson junctions. An analysis of Fiske modes up to about 400 GHz provides information on the junction quality factor and the relevant damping mechanisms. High quality factors of up to 30 around 200 GHz have been achieved. They allow for the study of the dynamic properties of the junctions, in particular the switching probability from the zero-voltage into the voltage state with and without microwave irradiation. The experiments with microwave irradiation are well explained within semi-classical models and numerical simulations. At mK temperature, the switching dynamics without applied microwaves clearly shows secondary quantum effects. Here, we could observe for the first time macroscopic quantum tunneling in Josephson junctions with ferromagnetic interlayer.

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IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity•Aug 20, 2014•0 citations
We report on the fabrication of superconductor/insulator/ferromagnetic metal/superconductor (Nb/AlOx/PdNi/Nb) π-Josephson junctions. An analysis of Fiske modes up to about 400 GHz provides information on the junction quality factor and the relevant damping mechanisms. High quality factors of up to 30 around 200 GHz have been achieved. They allow for the study of the dynamic properties of the junctions, in particular the switching probability from the zero-voltage into the voltage state with and without microwave irradiation. The experiments with microwave irradiation are well explained within semi-classical models and numerical simulations. At mK temperature, the switching dynamics without applied microwaves clearly shows secondary quantum effects. Here, we could observe for the first time macroscopic quantum tunneling in Josephson junctions with ferromagnetic interlayer.
We present experimental studies of high quality underdamped 0, pi, and 0-pi ferromagnetic Josephson tunnel junctions of intermediate length L (lambda_J < L < 5 lambda_J, where lambda_J is the Josephson penetration depth). The junctions are fabricated as Nb/Al_2O_3/Cu_40Ni_60/Nb Superconductor-Insulator-Ferromagnet-Superconductor heterostructures. Using microwave spectroscopy, we have investigated the eigenfrequencies of 0, pi, and 0-pi Josephson junctions in the temperature range 1.9K...320mK. Harmonic, subharmonic and superharmonic pumping is observed in experiment, and the experimental data are compared with numerical simulations. Escape rate measurements without applied microwaves at temperatures T down to 20mK show that the width of the switching current histogram decreases with temperature and saturates below T=150mK. We analyze our data in the framework of the short junction model. The differences between experimental data and theoretical predictions are discussed.
Josephson junctions based on Nb/AlOx/Nb trilayer technology have demonstrated excellent quality, exhibiting very low dissipation in the subgap region. This property is very important for all those experiments which have to deal with the quantum behavior of macroscopic variables in Josephson devices. In view of performing an experiment of macroscopic quantum coherence with a Josephson device, we measured the escape temperature and the return current of several junctions fabricated with different processes and having different characteristics, by cooling them from 4.2 to 0.3 K. We show that, for what concerns the process of escape from the zero-voltage state, no difference can be found among different junctions. On the other hand, the dissipation properties are strongly influenced by the current density, with lower current density resulting in lower intrinsic dissipation.
The authors fabricated high quality Nb∕Al2O3∕Ni0.6Cu0.4∕Nb superconductor-insulatorferromagnet-superconductor Josephson tunnel junctions. Depending on the thickness of the ferromagnetic Ni0.6Cu0.4 layer and on the ambient temperature, the junctions were in the 0 or π ground state. All junctions have homogeneous interfaces showing almost perfect Fraunhofer patterns. The Al2O3 tunnel barrier allows one to achieve rather low damping, which is desired for many experiments especially in the quantum domain. The McCumber parameter βc increases exponentially with decreasing temperature and reaches βc≈700 at T=2.11K. The critical current density in the π state was up to 5A∕cm2 at T=2.11K, resulting in a Josephson penetration depth λJ as low as 160μm. Experimentally determined junction parameters are well described by theory taking into account spin-flip scattering in the Ni0.6Cu0.4 layer and different transparencies of the interfaces.
Abstract We investigate tunnel ferromagnetic Josephson junctions based on Superconductor-Insulator-thin superconductor-Ferromagnet-Superconductor multilayers. A comparative study of their electrodynamic properties is performed for junctions with niobium and aluminum (Al) electrodes, featuring different ferromagnetic interlayer materials and lateral dimensions ranging from the micrometric to the submicrometric scale. The parameters extracted from the fitting of the current-voltage characteristics using the tunnel junction microscopic model are found to be consistent with those independently estimated from switching current distribution measurements. Submicrometric Al-based devices exhibit electrodynamic properties comparable to those implemented in state-of-the-art transmon qubits and display clear signatures of quantum phase diffusion. The strong agreement between transport modelling and escape dynamics establishes a robust framework for describing hybrid ferromagnetic Josephson junctions consistent with their energy scales and supports their potential integration into superconducting quantum and classical digital circuits.
We present a quantitative study of the current-voltage characteristics (CVC) of diffusive superconductor/insulator/ferromagnet/superconductor (SIFS) tunnel Josephson junctions. In order to obtain the CVC we calculate the density of states (DOS) in the F/S bilayer for arbitrary length of the ferromagnetic layer, using quasiclassical theory. For a ferromagnetic layer thickness larger than the characteristic penetration depth of the superconducting condensate into the F layer, we find an analytical expression which agrees with the DOS obtained from a self-consistent numerical method. We discuss general properties of the DOS and its dependence on the parameters of the ferromagnetic layer. In particular we focus our analysis on the DOS oscillations at the Fermi energy. Using the numerically obtained DOS we calculate the corresponding CVC and discuss their properties. Finally, we use CVC to calculate the macroscopic quantum tunneling (MQT) escape rate for the current biased SIFS junctions by taking into account the dissipative correction due to the quasiparticle tunneling. We show that the influence of the quasiparticle dissipation on the macroscopic quantum dynamics of SIFS junctions is small, which is an advantage of SIFS junctions for superconducting qubits applications.
Parametric Characterization and Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling of Nb/AlOx/Nb\hbox{Nb}/\hbox{AlO}_{\rm x}/\hbox{Nb}Nb/AlOx​/Nb Josephson Junctions
Parameters ofNb/AlOx/Nb\hbox{Nb}/\hbox{AlO}_{\rm x}/\hbox{Nb}Nb/AlOx​/NbJosephson including its critical current and capacitance which determine the dynamic energy consumption and speed of the superconducting electronics have been measured. The critical current of a22×22 μm222 \times 22 \ \mu\hbox{m}^{2}22×22 μm2junction is1801±52 μA1801 \pm 52 \ \mu\hbox{A}1801±52 μAcalculated from the dependent curve between the lifetime of zero-voltage and switching current. The specific capacitance is0.051±0.008 pF/μm20.051 \pm 0.008 \ \hbox{pF}/\mu\hbox{m}^{2}0.051±0.008 pF/μm2obtained by observing Fiske self-resonant step when applied several Gauss magnetic field. Critical current distributions had been measured as a function of temperature from 900 mK to 40 mK. The distribution widths become independent of temperature below 200 mK, which indicates the transition between thermal activation and macroscopic quantum tunneling of junction phase.