Experimental investigation of a twin-bridges superconducting switch

Conference item

We present the design and some preliminary measured results of a planar superconducting on/off switch comprising two niobium nitride (NbN) bridges deposited across the slotline section of a unilateral finline. The two bridges are separated by a distance of λ/4, such that the superconducting impedance of the bridges could be cancelled out at the resonance frequency. Both the NbN bridges were switched from the superconducting state to the normal state via a bias current exceeding the critical current of the NbN film. A millimetre wave source calibrated with a terahertz power meter is used to illuminate the switch, and the response of the switch in each state was measured using a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) chip as a direct detector. Preliminary measured results agreed generally well with our simulations, especially when the multiple wave reflection effect is included in our model.

Authors: Tan, B; Yassin, G; Boussahay, F; Chaumonty, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
• Host title: 27th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (ISSTT 2016)
• Journal: 27th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology (ISSTT 2016)
• Publication date: 2017-01-01
• Acceptance date: 2016-06-30
• Keywords: SBTMR