Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen
TT 28: Superconducting Electronics: SQUIDs and other Josephson Circuits and Components
TT 28.3: Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 10:00–10:15, CHE/0089
Towards the next generation of dc SQUID sensors — •Mauro Esattore1, Oliver Kieler1, Michael Paulsen2, Rainer Körber2, Patryk Krzysteczko2, Mark Bieler1, and Jörn Beyer2 — 1Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany — 2Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestraße 2-10, 10587 Berlin, Germany
This is an update on our path towards next-generation SQUID devices, featuring “fine-pitch” input coils and window-type Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb Josephson junctions (JJs), both realized with sub-micrometer dimensions. The circuit elements are fabricated using electron beam lithography and are integrated into existing sensor designs which are currently fabricated using UV lithography, which limits the minimal dimensions. For current sensor SQUIDs, it is crucial to maximize the inductive coupling k between the signal input coil and the SQUID loop to minimize the coupled energy sensitivity εc = ε/k2 - with ε being the intrinsic energy sensitivity. The SQUID energy sensitivity ε≈√(CJJ) can also be lowered by reducing the JJ capacitance CJJ. Our aim is to achieve high sensor compactness as well as reduced coupling losses, without further modifying the sensors design. To that end, we fabricated fine-pitch coils with lateral width down to 0.3 µm - almost an order of magnitude smaller than coils fabricated with UV lithography - with inductance values ranging from 400 nH to 14 µH, depending on the number of coil windings. Details concerning design aspects of both circuit elements, their fabrication and characterization results are provided.
Keywords: Superconductivity; SQUIDs; Sub-micrometer; Fabrication; Low temperature