Quantum interference devices made from superconducting oxide thin films

Abstract

We have fabricated superconducting quantum interference devices (dc SQUID's) from thin films of the superconducting oxide YBa2Cu 3Oy. The devices were made by first lithographically patterning an ion implant mask containing a 40 by 40 μm loop and two 17-μm-wide weak links over a ∼1-μm-thick oxide film. Ion implantation was then used to destroy the superconductivity in the film surrounding the device without actually removing material, resulting in a completely planar structure for the SQUID's. The SQUID's were operated in the temperature range from 4.2 to 68 K. The superconducting flux quantum was measured to be h/2e in these materials.