All-Nb thin film microbridge-type Josephson junction for submillimeter-wave detection

Abstract

A copolymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 3-triethoxysilylpropyl methacrylate (ESPMA) was proposed as a positive-working electron beam (EB) resist of a new type. It was found that it had 4–10 times the resistance of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) against CBrF₃ plasma damage. The mechanism of etching Nb in reactive-ion-etching (RIE) was deciphered. Using the new EB resist and nanometer process technology, an all-Nb thin film microbridge was fabricated. It shows the a.c. Josephson effect, i.e. the Shapiro steps upto the 11th were observed under millimeter-wave (70 GHz) radiation. In addition the coherently working performance of the series array of these thin-film microbridges were observed definitively.