Browsing by Subject "SQUIDs"

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    ItemOpen Access
    Analysis of electrical characteristics and magnetic field dependences of YBCO step edge and bicrystal grain boundary junctions for rf-SQUID applications
    (Institute of Physics, 2004) Fardmanesh, M.; Schubert, J.; Akram, R.; Bick, M.; Banzet, M.; Zander, W.; Zhang, Y.; Krause, H-J.
    The dc characteristics and magnetic field dependences of Y-Ba-Cu-O bicrystal grain boundary junctions (BGBJs) and step edge junctions (SEJs) were investigated for fabrication of rf-SQUIDs. Test junctions with up to 8 μm widths as well as the junctions of the two types of junction-based rf-SQUID were studied. The SEJs typically showed lower Jc and higher ρN as compared to the BGBJs, resulting in close IcRN products. All the BGBJs showed classical field dependent Ic following their junction width, resembling Fraunhofer patterns. The field sensitivity of the BGBJs' Uc led to low yield submicron BGBJ rf-SQUIDs partially impaired by the Earth's magnetic field. Two major behaviours of low and high field dependences of Ic were observed for the SEJs. Only the low field-sensitive SEJs resulted in micron size junction rf-SQUIDs not impaired by the Earth's magnetic field. The low field-sensitive SEJs led to low I/f noise magnetically stable rf-SQUIDs appropriate for applications in unshielded environments at 77 K.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Investigation of the effect of thermal cycling on the device performance of YBa2Cu3O7-δ DC-SQUIDs
    (2007) Avci I.; Algul, B.P.; Bozbey, A.; Akram, R.; Tepe, M.; Abukay, D.
    We investigated the effect of thermal cycling on the operational performance of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) direct current superconducting quantum interference devices (DC-SQUIDs) fabricated onto 24°SrTiO3 (STO) bicrystal substrates. The devices under investigation consist of directly coupled DC-SQUID magnetometer configurations. Thin films having 200nm thicknesses were deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering and device patterns were made by a standard lithography process and chemical etching. The SQUIDs having 4νm-wide grain boundary Josephson junctions (GBJJs) were characterized by means of critical currents, peak-to-peak output voltages and noise levels, depending on the thermal cycles. In order to achieve a protective layer for the junctions against the undesired effects of thermal cycles and ambient atmosphere during the room temperature storage, the devices were coated with a 400nm thick YBCO layer at room temperature. Since the second layer of amorphous YBCO is completely electrically insulating, it does not affect the operation of the junctions and pick-up coils of magnetometers. This two-layered configuration ensures the protection of the junctions from ambient atmosphere as well as from the effect of water molecules interacting with the film structure during each thermal cycle. © IOP Publishing Ltd.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Quantum information processing in solid states: A critique of two-level approximation
    (World Scientific Publishing Co., 2005) Savran K.; Hakioğlu T.
    We examine the effect of multilevels on decoherence and dephasing properties of a quantum system consisting of a non-ideal two level subspace, identified as the qubit and a finite set of higher energy levels above this qubit subspace. The whole system is under interaction with an environmental bath through a Caldeira-Leggett type coupling. The model that we use is an rf-SQUID under macroscopic quantum coherence and coupled inductively to a flux noise characterized by an environmental spectrum. The model interaction can generate dipole couplings which can be appreciable for a number of high levels. The decoherence properties of the qubit subspace is examined numerically using the master equation formalism of the system’s reduced density matrix. We numerically examine the relaxation and dephasing times as the environmental frequency spectrum, and the multilevel system parameters are varied at zero temperature. We observe that, these time scales receive contribution from all available energies in the noise spectrum (even well above the system’s energy scales) stressing the dominant role played by the non-resonant (virtual) transitions. The relaxation and dephasing times calculated, strongly depend on the number of levels within the range of levels for which appreciable couplings are produced. Under the influence of these effects, we remark that the validity of the two level approximation is restricted not by the temperature but by these dipole couplings as well as the availability of the environmental modes at low temperatures. © 2005 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Selection of the best proper DC-SQUIDs in a multi-SQUID configuration
    (IEEE, 2007) Avcı, İ.; Akram, R.; Bozbey, Ali; Tepe, M.; Abukay, D.
    We have carried out experimental investigation of multi-DC-SQUID magnetometer configuration fabricated on YBa2Cu30 7-δ thin films onto 24 degree SrTiO3 bicrystal substrates by directly coupling the pick-up loop to DC-SQUIDs. The layout of the magnetometer pick-up loop was chosen as a square washer configuration by maximizing loop effective area and minimizing loop inductance. We have used De-Magnetron Sputtering technique for deposition of the films and chemical etching process for patterning the Josephson junctions having 4 μm widths. The use of multi-SQUID configuration is related to the selection of the best proper junctions for SQUID to improve the chip sensitivity with selectivity option of choosing the squid junctions rather than multichannel operation. Selection of the best junctions compared to each other depending on the junction critical currents and noise levels caused by the fabrication process and placements of the junctions on the grain boundary enable having an increased output signal of the DC-SQUID.