0000000001061532
AUTHOR
I. J. Maasilta
Strain sensing with sub-micron sized Al-AlOx-Al tunnel junctions
We demonstrate a local strain sensing method for nanostructures based on metallic Al tunnel junctions with AlOx barriers. The junctions were fabricated on top of a thin silicon nitride membrane, which was actuated with an AFM tip attached to a stiff cantilever. A large relative change in the tunneling resistance in response to the applied strain (gauge factor) was observed, up to a value 37. This facilitates local static strain variation measurements down to ~10^{-7}.
A Composite Phononic Crystal Design for Quasiparticle Lifetime Enhancement in Kinetic Inductance Detectors
A nanoscale phononic crystal filter (reflector) is designed for a kinetic inductance detector where the reflection band is matched to the quasiparticle recombination phonons with the aim to increase quasiparticle lifetime in the superconducting resonator. The inductor is enclosed by a 1-μm-wide phononic crystal membrane section with two simple hole patterns that each contain a partial spectral gap for various high-frequency phonon modes. The phononic crystal is narrow enough for low-frequency thermal phonons to propagate unimpeded. With 3D phonon scattering simulation over a 40 dB attenuation in transmitted power is found for the crystal, which is estimated to give a lifetime enhancement of…
Reentrant stability of superconducting films
We propose a mechanism responsible for the abrupt vanishing of the dendritic flux instability found in many superconducting films when an increasing magnetic field is applied. The onset of flux avalanches and the subsequent reentrance of stability in NbN films was investigated using magneto-optical imaging, and the threshold fields were measured as functions of critical current density, $j_c$. The results are explained with excellent quantitative agreement by a thermomagnetic model published recently, Phys. Rev. B73, 014512 (2006), showing that the reentrant stability is a direct consequence of a monotonously decreasing $j_c$ versus field.
Optimal operation of transition-edge sensors on ballistic membranes
We calculate the operating parameters of a transition edge sensor that is mounted on a thin dielectric membrane with the assumption that the phononic heat transport in the membrane is ballistic. Our treatment uses the correct phonon modes from elasticity theory (Lamb-modes), and spans the transition from 3D to 2D behavior. The phonon cooling power and conductance have a global minimum as function of membrane thickness, which leads to an optimal value for the membrane thickness with respect to noise equivalent power at a fixed operating temperature. The energy resolution of a calorimeter will not be affected strongly, but, somewhat counterintuitively, the effective time constant can be reduc…
Simultaneous Noise and Impedance Fitting to Transition-Edge Sensor Data Using Differential Evolution
We discuss a robust method to simultaneously fit a complex multi-body model both to the complex impedance and the noise data for transition-edge sensors. It is based on a differential evolution (DE) algorithm, providing accurate and repeatable results with only a small increase in computational cost compared to the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithm. Test fits are made using both DE and LM methods, and the results compared with previously determined best fits, with varying initial value deviations and limit ranges for the parameters. The robustness of DE is demonstrated with successful fits even when parameter limits up to a factor of 10 from the known values were used. It is shown that the…
Temperature Profile for Ballistic and Diffusive Phonon Transport in a Suspended Membrane with a Radial Symmetric Heat Source
We have calculated the temperature profiles for phonon heat transport in a suspended membrane with a radially symmetric heat source in the two extreme cases of either fully ballistic or fully diffusive transport. Theoretical results confirm that it is possible to distinguish these two transport mechanisms from the radial temperature profiles alone. Models are also compared to experimental data measured with 40 nm thick, free standing silicon nitride membranes below 1 K by using tunnel junction (SINIS) thermometers. The measured temperature profile is qualitatively in agreement with the ballistic model.
Ray optics in flux avalanche propagation in superconducting films
Experimental evidence of wave properties of dendritic flux avalanches in superconducting films is reported. Using magneto-optical imaging the propagation of dendrites across boundaries between a bare NbN film and areas coated by a Cu-layer was visualized, and it was found that the propagation is refracted in full quantitative agreement with Snell's law. For the studied film of 170 nm thickness and a 0.9 mkm thick metal layer, the refractive index was close to n=1.4. The origin of the refraction is believed to be caused by the dendrites propagating as an electromagnetic shock wave, similar to damped modes considered previously for normal metals. The analogy is justified by the large dissipat…