IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
Analysis of the Effect of 0-π SQUIDs for Enhancing Mutual Coupling
Masayuki Higashi, Yuto Takeshita, Kento Kato, Hinata Fujisawa, Feng Li, Masamitsu Tanaka, Taro Yamashita, Akira Fujimaki
Abstract
This study shows that we can obtain an enhanced mutual coupling by using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) containing a π-phase shift Josephson junction (π-junction). The π-junction can increase the current flowing in the loop inductance of the SQUID, thereby enhancing the magnetic flux generated in the inductance. Therefore, the effective self-inductance of the SQUID can increase, resulting in an increase in the mutual coupling. We use a 0-π SQUID formed by a conventional Josephson junction (0-junction) and a π-junction. Our numerical analysis for a simplified structure revealed that the ratio of effective to original self-inductance increased to 50. To confirm this, we measured the modulation patterns of critical current in dc-SQUIDs in which part of the loop inductance was replaced with a series of 0-π SQUIDs. The observed modulation pattern revealed that the effective self-inductance became more than 10-fold larger than the original self-inductance under the conditions that the applied current is a few μA while the critical current of the 0-junction in 0-π SQUIDs is 35 μA.