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Physical Review Applied

NbN-Based Ferromagnetic 0 and π Josephson Junctions

Taro Yamashita, Akira Kawakami, Hirotaka Terai

Published Nov 14, 2017• 44 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In superconducting spintronics, ferromagnetic \pi Josephson junctions are attractive for qubits, cryogenic memory, and phase shifters in logic circuits, offering reduced cell size and superior coherence and scalability. This study demonstrates such junctions based on niobium nitride, which can be grown epitaxially on MgO and is compatible with existing hardware. Its results provide physical insight into superconducting spintronics, as well as an interesting component for applications in quantum information processing.

DOI
10.1103/physrevapplied.8.054028

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In superconducting spintronics, ferromagnetic \pi Josephson junctions are attractive for qubits, cryogenic memory, and phase shifters in logic circuits, offering reduced cell size and superior coherence and scalability. This study demonstrates such junctions based on niobium nitride, which can be grown epitaxially on MgO and is compatible with existing hardware. Its results provide physical insight into superconducting spintronics, as well as an interesting component for applications in quantum information processing.
In the field of superconducting electronics, a π phase shifter based on a ferromagnetic Josephson junction is expected to provide various advantages to classical and quantum superconducting devices. Here we report niobium nitride (NbN)-based ferromagnetic π junctions on a silicon (Si) substrate with a titanium nitride (TiN) buffer layer, which have applications to flux-bias-free flux quantum bits (qubits) and classical digital logic elements. We fabricated and characterized NbN/aluminum nitride (AlN)/NbN Josephson junctions, NbN/copper nickel (CuNi)/NbN ferromagnetic Josephson junctions, and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) consisting of these junctions on the Si substrate. The fabricated NbN/AlN/NbN junctions showed a high junction quality suitable for qubit applications. Furthermore, the magnetic field dependence of the SQUID's critical current indicated that the NbN/CuNi/NbN junction worked as a π phase shifter on the Si substrate.
We review the physical basis of and recent developments in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions with a focus on the π state, which is useful for applications to superconducting devices. Among various novel phenomena that emerge from the interaction between the superconductor and ferromagnet, the π state (junction) works as a phase shifter in superconducting devices, and several proposals and demonstrations of applications to quantum computing elements (qubits), classical superconducting logic circuits, and cryogenic memory have been presented. As a new research trend in superconducting spintronics, we also introduce recent interesting works on the long-range Josephson effect caused by spin-triplet Cooper pairs.
In recent years, various novel phenomena such as π-state (π-junction) and long-ranged supercurrents emerged in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions (superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor junctions) have been studied so actively. An attractive device application of the ferromagnetic π-junction is a flux-bias-free superconducting flux quantum bit (qubit). By inserting the π-junction in the superconducting loop of the flux qubit, an external flux bias corresponding to half flux quantum, which is required for the operation of the conventional flux qubits, becomes unnecessary. This flux-bias-free feature is a great advantage in the realization of large-scale quantum circuits with many qubits. In the talk, we will present recent progress on the development of NbN-based ferromagnetic Josephson junctions which is suitable for the quantum circuits. We also show the experimental results on the several types of the quantum circuits with the NbN-based ferromagnetic π-junction.
The lack of dense, fast, energy efficient memory has been the main detractor for multiple superconducting digital projects in the past. Recently, fundamental physics research in superconductor-ferromagnet thin-film tunnel structures created a new opportunity to solve this long-standing problem. Superconductivity and ferromagnetism, two deeply antagonistic electronic properties, can co-exist in form of Magnetic Josephson Junctions (MJJs). The superconducting-ferromagnetic MJJs are electrically compatible with traditional superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) Josephson junctions (JJs) used for digital energy-efficient single flux quantum (eSFQ/ERSFQ) circuits. Both MJJ and JJ circuits have similar fabrication process and can be integrated on a single chip. As a result, a combination of MJJs and JJs can be used to form addressable memory cells, energy-efficient memory periphery circuits and programmable logic elements. In this paper, we present the test results of superconductor-insulator-ferromagnet-superconductor (SIFS) MJJs showing their applicability for superconducting spintronic memory and digital circuits.
Half-flux-quantum (HFQ) logic is a superconductor logic family comprising conventional Josephson junctions (0-JJs) and π Josephson junctions (π-JJs). The energy scale of HFQ logic can be flexibly reduced by phase shifts owing to π-JJs; thus, HFQ circuits are a promising building block for qubit interface circuits. In this study, we demonstrate an NbN-based HFQ circuit element compatible with NbN-based superconducting qubits for all-NbN monolithic integration of qubits and HFQ circuits. The use of NbN is beneficial for both qubits and HFQ circuits owing to its high-quality junctions and high kinetic inductance. First, we developed a prototype of an NbN-based 0-JJ/π-JJ hybrid fabrication process for designing HFQ circuits. We evaluated 0-JJs and π-JJs fabricated through the hybrid process, which demonstrated that the 0-JJs had a small deviation with regard to critical current density and the π-JJs had a sufficiently high critical current density to work as π phase shifters. Furthermore, we fabricated an HFQ superconducting quantum interference device, which is one of the most fundamental elements in HFQ circuits, and observed clear HFQ-period modulation in the magnetic flux dependence of the maximum current at 4.2 K.
Aluminum Josephson junctions are the building blocks for the realization of superconducting quantum bits. Attention has been also paid to hybrid ferromagnetic Josephson junctions, which allow switching between different magnetic states, making them interesting for applications such as cryogenic memories, single-photon detectors, and spintronics. In this paper, we report on the fabrication and characterization of high-quality ferromagnetic Josephson junctions based on aluminum technology. We employed an innovative fabrication process inspired by niobium-based technology, allowing us to obtain very high-quality hybrid aluminum Josephson junctions; thus, supporting the use of ferromagnetic Josephson junctions in advanced quantum circuits. The fabrication process is described in detail and the main DC transport properties at low temperatures (current-voltage characteristic, critical current as a function of the temperature, and the external magnetic field) are reported. Here, we illustrate in detail the fabrication process, as well as the main DC transport properties at low temperatures (current-voltage characteristic, critical current as a function of the temperature, and the external magnetic field).