arXiv subjects

K. Ilin

Publications and source records attributed to K. Ilin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Single-photon detection using large-scale high-temperature MgB$_2$ sensors at 20 K

Ultra-fast single-photon detectors with high current density and operating temperature can benefit space and ground applications, including quantum optical communication systems, lightweight cryogenics for space crafts, and medical use. Here we demonstrate magnesium diboride (MgB$_2$) thin-film superconducting microwires capable of single-photon detection at 1.55 $\mu$m optical wavelength. We used helium ions to alter the properties of MgB$_2$, resulting in microwire-based detectors exhibiting single-photon sensitivity across a broad temperature range of up to 20 K, and detection efficiency saturation for 1 $\mu$m wide microwires at 3.7 K. Linearity of detection rate vs incident power was preserved up to at least ~100 Mcps. Despite the large active area of up to 400$\times$400 $\mu$m$^2$, the reset time was found to be as low as $\sim1$ ns. Our research provides new possibilities for breaking the operating temperature limit and maximum single-pixel count rate, expanding the detector area, and raises inquiries about the fundamental mechanisms of single-photon detection in high-critical-temperature superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Spectroscopic evidence for strong correlations between local superconducting gap and local Altshuler-Aronov density-of-states suppression in ultrathin NbN films

Disorder has different profound effects on superconducting thin films. For a large variety of materials, increasing disorder reduces electronic screening which enhances electron-electron repulsion. These fermionic effects lead to a mechanism described by Finkelstein: when disorder combined to electron-electron interactions increases, there is a global decrease of the superconducting energy gap $\Delta$ and of the critical temperature $T_c$, the ratio $\Delta$/$k_BT_c$ remaining roughly constant. In addition, in most films an emergent granularity develops with increasing disorder and results in the formation of inhomogeneous superconducting puddles. These gap inhomogeneities are usually accompanied by the development of bosonic features: a pseudogap develops above the critical temperature $T_c$ and the energy gap $\Delta$ starts decoupling from $T_c$. Thus the mechanism(s) driving the appearance of these gap inhomogeneities could result from a complicated interplay between fermionic and bosonic effects. By studying the local electronic properties of a NbN film with scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) we show that the inhomogeneous spatial distribution of $\Delta$ is locally strongly correlated to a large depletion in the local density of states (LDOS) around the Fermi level, associated to the Altshuler-Aronov effect induced by strong electronic interactions. By modelling quantitatively the measured LDOS suppression, we show that the latter can be interpreted as local variations of the film resistivity. This local change in resistivity leads to a local variation of $\Delta$ through a local Finkelstein mechanism. Our analysis furnishes a purely fermionic scenario explaining quantitatively the emergent superconducting inhomogeneities, while the precise origin of the latter remained unclear up to now.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Proximity effect model of ultra-narrow NbN strips

We show that narrow superconducting strips in superconducting (S) and normal (N) states are universally described by the model presenting them as lateral NSN proximity systems in which the superconducting central band is sandwiched between damaged edge-bands with suppressed superconductivity.The width of the superconducting band was experimentally determined from the value of magnetic field at which the band transits from the Meissner state to the static vortex state. Systematic experimental study of 4.9 nm thick NbN strips with widths in the interval from 50 nm to 20 $μ$m, which are all smaller than the Pearl's length, demonstrates gradual evolution of the temperature dependence of the critical current with the change of the strip width.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2017

Enhancement of superconductivity in NbN nanowires by negative electron-beam lithography with positive resist

We performed comparative experimental investigation of superconducting NbN nanowires which were prepared by means of positive-and negative electron-beam lithography with the same positive tone Poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) resist. We show that nanowires with a thickness 4.9 nm and widths less than 100 nm demonstrate at 4.2 K higher critical temperature and higher density of critical and retrapping currents when they are prepared by negative lithography. Also the ratio of the experimental critical-current to the depairing critical current is larger for nanowires prepared by negative lithography. We associate the observed enhancement of superconducting properties with the difference in the degree of damage that nanowire edges sustain in the lithographic process. A whole range of advantages which is offered by the negative lithography with positive PMMA resist ensures high potential of this technology for improving performance metrics of superconducting nanowire singe-photon detectors.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2016

NbN/AlN/NbN Josephson junctions on sapphire for receiver applications

The most developed integrated receivers for THz radiation nowadays are based on Josephson junction SIS devices. In this kind of devices, the highest receivable frequency is determined by the energy gap of the superconducting electrodes and limited to approximately 700 GHz in case of Nb/AlOx/Nb multilayers. We have developed a technology for NbN/AlN/NbN Josephson junctions on sapphire substrates which allow operation at frequencies above 1 THz. The trilayers are deposited in-situ in a 3-chamber DC-magnetron sputtering system at temperatures as high as 775 °C. Each layer is reactively sputtered in an argon and nitrogen atmosphere. By variation of the partial gas pressures and discharge current of the plasma, optimum deposition conditions for the tri-layers were found. So far, gap voltages as high as 5.1 mV at 4.2 K have been achieved which allows the operation frequency of the JJ devices to exceed 1 THz.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

AlN-buffered superconducting NbN nanowire single-photon detector on GaAs

We investigated the suitability of AlN as a buffer layer for NbN superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) on GaAs. The NbN films with a thickness of 3.3 nm to 20 nm deposited onto GaAs substrates with AlN buffer layer, demonstrate a higher critical temperature, critical current density and lower residual resistivity in comparison to films deposited onto bare substrates. Unfortunately, the thermal coupling of the NbN film to the substrate weakens. SNSPDs made of 4.9 nm thick NbN films on buffered substrates (in comparison to detectors made from NbN films on bare GaAs) demonstrate three orders of magnitude lower dark count rates and about ten times higher detection efficiency at 900 nm being measured at 90% of the critical current. The system timing jitter of SNSPDs on buffered substrates is 72 ps which is 36 ps lower than those on bare substrate. However, a weaker thermal coupling of NbN nanowire to the buffered substrate leads to a latching effect at bias currents > 0.97 IC.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Characteristics of superconducting tungsten silicide WxSi1-x for single photon detection

Superconducting properties of three series of amorphous WxSi1-x films with different thickness and stoichiometry were investigated by dc transport measurements in a magnetic field up to 9 T. These amorphous WxSi1-x films were deposited by magnetron co-sputtering of the elemental source targets onto silicon substrates at room temperature and patterned in form of bridges by optical lithography and reactive ion etching. Analysis of the data on magnetoconductivity allowed us to extract the critical temperature, superconducting coherence length, magnetic penetration depth, and diffusion coefficient of electrons in the normal state as a function of film thickness for each stoichiometry. Two basic time constants were derived from transport and time-resolving measurements. A dynamic process of the formation of a hot-spot was analyzed in the framework of a diffusion-based vortex-entry model. We used the two stage diffusion approach and defined a hotspot size by assuming that the quasi-particles and normal-state electrons have the equal diffusion constant. Our findings are consistent with the most recent results on a hot-spot relaxation time in the WxSi1-x superconducting nanowire single-photon detector. In the 5 nm thick W0.85Si0.15 film the hot-spot has a diameter of 105 nm at the peak of the number of non-equilibrium quasi-particles.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Current dependence of the hot-spot response spectrum of superconducting single-photon detectors with different layouts

We show that avoiding bends in a current-carrying superconducting nanowire enhances the probability for low energy photons to be detected and that this enhancement is entirely due to the increase in the experimentally achievable critical current. We studied nanowires shaped as either meander or spiral. The spirals had different layouts, a double-spiral layout with an S-turn in the middle and a single-spiral layout without such turn. Nanowires were prepared from films of niobium nitride with a thickness of 5 nm. For specimens with each layout we measured the spectra of the single-photon response in the wavelength range from 400 nm to 1600 nm and defined the cut-off wavelength $λc$ beyond which the response rolls off. The largest and the smallest $λc$ were found for the single-spiral layout and for the meander, respectively. For all three layouts the relationship between $λc$ and the relative bias current falls onto a universal curve which has been predicted earlier in the framework of the modified hot-spot model. For the single-spiral layout, the efficiency of photon detection at wavelengths smaller than $λc$ reaches the expected absorbance of the spiral structure and the timing jitter per unit length of the nanowire has the smallest value.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Asymmetry in the effect of magnetic field on photon detection and dark counts in bended nanostrips

Current crowding in the bends of superconducting nano-structures not only restricts measurable critical current in such structures but also redistributes local probabilities for dark and light counts to appear. Using structures from strips in the form of a square spiral which contain bends with the very same curvature with respect to the directions of bias current and external magnetic field, we have shown that dark counts as well as light counts at small photon energies originate from areas around the bends. The minimum in the rate of dark counts reproduces the asymmetry of the maximum critical current density as function of the magnetic field. Contrary, the minimum in the rate of light counts demonstrate opposite asymmetry. The rate of light counts become symmetric at large currents and fields. Comparing locally computed absorption probabilities for photons and the simulated threshold detection current we found the approximate locations of areas near bends which deliver asymmetric light counts. Any asymmetry is absent in Archimedean spiral structures without bends.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Confinement of superconducting fluctuations due to emergent electronic inhomogeneities

The microscopic nature of an insulating state in the vicinity of a superconducting state, in the presence of disorder, is a hotly debated question. While the simplest scenario proposes that Coulomb interactions destroy the Cooper pairs at the transition, leading to localization of single electrons, an alternate possibility supported by experimental observations suggests that Cooper pairs instead directly localize. The question of the homogeneity, granularity, or possibly glassiness of the material on the verge of this transition is intimately related to this fundamental issue. Here, by combining macroscopic and nano-scale studies of superconducting ultrathin NbN films, we reveal nanoscopic electronic inhomogeneities that emerge when the film thickness is reduced. In addition, while thicker films display a purely two-dimensional behaviour in the superconducting fluctuations, we demonstrate a zero-dimensional regime for the thinner samples precisely on the scale of the inhomogeneities. Such behavior is somehow intermediate between the Fermi and Bose insulator paradigms and calls for further investigation to understand the way Cooper pairs continuously evolve from a bound state of fermionic objects into localized bosonic entities.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Defect controlled vortex generation in current-carrying narrow superconducting strips

We experimentally study effect of single circular hole on the critical current $I_c$ of narrow superconducting strip with width $W$ much smaller than Pearl penetration depth $Λ$. We found nonmonotonous dependence of $I_c$ on the location of a hole across the strip and a weak dependence of $I_c$ on radius of hole has been found in case of hole with $ξ\ll R \ll W$ ($ξ$ is a superconducting coherence length) which is placed in the center of strip. The observed effects are caused by competition of two mechanisms of destruction of superconductivity - the entrance of vortex via edge of the strip and the nucleation of the vortex-antivortex pair near the hole. The mechanisms are clearly distinguishable by difference in dependence of $I_c$ on weak magnetic field.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Robustness of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in Ultrathin NbN Films near the Superconductor-Insulator Transition

Occurrence of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition is investigated by superfluid density measurements for two-dimensional (2D) disordered NbN films with disorder level very close to a superconductor-insulator transition (SIT). Our data show a robust BKT transition even near this 2D disorder-tuned quantum critical point (QCP). This observation is in direct contrast with previous data on deeply underdoped quasi-2D cuprates near the SIT. As our NbN films approach the QCP, the vortex-core energy, an important energy scale in the BKT transition, scales with the superconducting gap, not with the superfluid density, as expected within the standard 2D-XY model description of BKT physics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Effect of the wire width on the intrinsic detection efficiency of superconducting-nanowire single-photon detectors

Thorough spectral study of the intrinsic single-photon detection efficiency in superconducting TaN and NbN nanowires with different widths shows that the experimental cut-off in the efficiency at near-infrared wavelengths is most likely caused by the local deficiency of Cooper pairs available for current transport. For both materials the reciprocal cut-off wavelength scales with the wire width whereas the scaling factor quantitatively agrees with the hot-spot detection models. Comparison of the experimental data with vortex-assisted detection scenarios shows that these models predict a stronger dependence of the cut-off wavelength on the wire width.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Highly responsive Y-Ba-Cu-O thin film THz detectors with picosecond time resolution

High-temperature superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-d (YBCO) thin-film detectors with improved responsivities were developed for fast time-domain measurements in the THz frequency range. YBCO thin films of 30 nm thickness were patterned to micro- and nanobridges and embedded into planar log-spiral THz antennas. The YBCO thin-film detectors were characterized with continuous wave radiation at 0.65 THz. Responsivity values as high as 710 V/W were found for the YBCO nanobridges. Pulsed measurements in the THz frequency range were performed at the electron storage ring ANKA from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Due to the high responsivities of the nanobridges no biasing was required for the detection of the coherent synchrotron radiation pulses achieving very good agreement between the measured pulse shapes and simulations.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Detection Efficiency of a Spiral-Nanowire Superconducting Single-Photon Detector

We investigate the detection efficiency of a spiral layout of a Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector (SNSPD). The design is less susceptible to the critical current reduction in sharp turns of the nanowire than the conventional meander design. Detector samples with different nanowire width from 300 to 100 nm are patterned from a 4 nm thick NbN film deposited on sapphire substrates. The critical current IC at 4.2 K for spiral, meander, and simple bridge structures is measured and compared. On the 100 nm wide samples, the detection efficiency is measured in the wavelength range 400-1700 nm and the cut-off wavelength of the hot-spot plateau is determined. In the optical range, the spiral detector reaches a detection efficiency of 27.6%, which is ~1.5 times the value of the meander. In the infrared range the detection efficiency is more than doubled.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Sub-μm Josephson Junctions for Superconducting Quantum Devices

For high-performance superconducting quantum devices based on Josephson junctions (JJs) decreasing lateral sizes is of great importance. Fabrication of sub-μm JJs is challenging due to non-flat surfaces with step heights of up to several 100 nm generated during the fabrication process. We have refined a fabrication process with significantly decreased film thicknesses, resulting in almost flat surfaces at intermediate steps during the JJ definition. In combination with a mix-&-match process, combining electron-beam lithography (EBL) and conventional photolithography, we can fabricate JJs with lateral dimensions down to 0.023 μm^2. We propose this refined process as an alternative to the commonly used chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) procedure. We present transport measurements of JJs at 4.2 K that yield critical-current densities in the range from 50 to 10^4 A/cm^2. Our JJ process yields excellent quality parameters, Rsg/Rn up to ~50 and Vgap up to 2.81 mV, and also allows the fabrication of high-quality sub-μm wide long JJs (LJJs) for the study of Josephson vortex behavior. The developed technique can also be used for similar multilayer processes and is very promising for fabricating sub-μm JJs for quantum devices such as SQUIDs, qubits and SIS mixers.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Infrared photo-response of Fe-shunted Ba-122 thin film microstructures

We present a study of the response to pulsed infrared radiation of Fe-layer shunted pnictide thin film microstructures. The thin film multilayer consisting of 20 nm thick Fe-buffer, 50 nm thick Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 film and gold protection layer were deposited on heated MgO and MgAl2O4 substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. The multilayers were patterned into 5 to 8 um wide and 5 um long microbridges by electron-beam lithography and ion-milling technique. The microbridges show Tc up to 20 K and a critical current density up to 2.56 MA/cm2 at T = 10 K. The photo-response of Fe-shunted Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 thin film microbridges to infrared radiation was studied in a wide range of incident optical power, operation temperature and bias current. We have found that the electron energy relaxation in studied multilayers is dependent on substrate material and is 1.75 times faster in case of MgAl2O4 characterized by lattice matching to pnictide film in comparison to MgO substrate.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Geometry-induced reduction of the critical current in superconducting nanowires

Reduction of the critical current in narrow superconducting NbN lines with sharp and rounded bends with respect to the critical current in straight lines was studied at different temperatures. We compare our experimental results with the reduction expected in the framework of the London model and the Ginsburg-Landau model. We have experimentally found that the reduction is significantly less than either model predicts. We also show that in our NbN lines the bends mostly contribute to the reduction of the critical current at temperatures well below the superconducting transition temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗