Superconducting tantalum nitride-based normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junctions

Abstract

We report the development of superconducting tantalum nitride (TaN${}_x$) normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junctions. For the insulating barrier, we used both AlO${}_x$ and TaO${}_x$ (Cu-AlO${}_x$-Al-TaN${}_x$ and Cu-TaO${}_x$-TaN${}_x$), with both devices exhibiting temperature dependent current-voltage characteristics which follow the simple one-particle tunneling model. The superconducting gap follows a BCS type temperature dependence, rendering these devices suitable for sensitive thermometry and bolometry from the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\text{C}}$ of the TaN${}_x$ film at $\sim 5$ K down to $\sim$ 0.5 K. Numerical simulations were also performed to predict how junction parameters should be tuned to achieve electronic cooling at temperatures above 1 K.

arXiv commentAppl. Phys. Lett. in press

References in corpus (14)

• Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications
• Micrometre-scale refrigerators
• Photon assisted tunneling as an origin of the Dynes density of states
• Tantalum nitride superconducting single-photon detectors with low cut-off energy
• Vanishing quasiparticle density in a hybrid Al/Cu/Al single-electron transistor
• Proximity Effect and Multiple Andreev Reflections in Diffusive SNS Junctions
• Are pinholes the cause of excess current in superconducting tunnel junctions? A study of Andreev current in highly resistive junctions
• Phonon cooling of nanomechanical beams with tunnel junctions
• Observations and modeling of large area normal-metal/insulator/superconductor refrigerator cooling from 300 mK to below 100 mK
• Trapping hot quasi-particles in a high-power superconducting electronic cooler
• Fabrication of superconducting tantalum nitride thin films using infra-red pulsed laser deposition
• Niobium nitride-based normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junction microthermometer
• Sub-micron normal-metal/insulator/superconductor tunnel junction thermometer and cooler using Nb
• Cooling, conductance and thermometric performance of non-ideal normal metal-superconductor tunnel junction pairs

Cited by in corpus (11)

• A Microwave Josephson Refrigerator
• Efficient thermionic operation and phonon isolation by a semiconductor-superconductor junction
• A cascade electronic refrigerator using superconducting tunnel junctions
• Theory of universal diode effect in three-terminal Josephson junctions
• Efficient electronic cooling above 2 K by niobium-based superconducting tunnel junctions
• Applications and non-idealities of submicron Al-AlOx-Nb tunnel junctions
• Granular-composite-like electrical transport properties of polycrystalline cubic TaN${}_x$ thin films prepared by rf sputtering method
• Spin-polarized quasiparticle control in a double spin-filter tunnel junction
• Superconducting tunnel junction fabrication on three-dimensional topography via direct laser writing
• Excess quasiparticles and their dynamics in the presence of subgap states
• Highly tunable NbTiN Josephson junctions fabricated with focused helium ion beam