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Register a new userElectrodynamics of the Superconducting State in Ultra-Thin Films at THz Frequencies
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We report on terahertz frequency-domain spectroscopy (THz-FDS) experiments in which we measure charge carrier dynamics and excitations of thin-film superconducting systems at low temperatures in the THz spectral range. The characteristics of the set-up and the experimental procedures are described comprehensively. We discuss the single-particle density of states and a theory of electrodynamic absorption and optical conductivity of conventional superconductors. We present the experimental performance of the setup at low temperatures for a broad spectral range from 0.1 - 1.1 THz by the example of ultra-thin films of weakly disordered superconductors niobium nitride (NbN) and tantalum nitride (TaN) with different values of critical temperatures. Furthermore, we analyze and interpret our experimental data within the framework of conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity.
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The response of superconducting pair-breaking detectors is dependent on the details of the quasiparticle distribution. In Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs), where both pair breaking and non-pair breaking photons are absorbed simultaneously, calculating the detector response therefore requires knowledge of the often nonequilibrium distributions. The quasiparticle effective temperature provides a good approximation to these nonequilibrium distributions. We compare an analytical expression relating absorbed power and the quasiparticle effective temperature in superconducting thin films to full solutions for the nonequilibrium distributions, and find good agreement for a range of materials, absorbed powers, photon frequencies and temperatures typical of KIDs. This analytical expression allows inclusion of nonequilibrium effects in device models without solving for the detailed distributions. We also show our calculations of the frequency dependence of the detector response are in agreement with recent experimental measurements of the response of Ta KIDs at THz frequencies.
We present numerical and analytical studies of coupled nonlinear Maxwell and thermal diffusion equations which describe nonisothermal dendritic flux penetration in superconducting films. We show that spontaneous branching of propagating flux filaments occurs due to nonlocal magnetic flux diffusion and positive feedback between flux motion and Joule heat generation. The branching is triggered by a thermomagnetic edge instability which causes stratification of the critical state. The resulting distribution of magnetic microavalanches depends on a spatial distribution of defects. Our results are in good agreement with experiments performed on Nb films.
All non-interacting two-dimensional electronic systems are expected to exhibit an insulating ground state. This conspicuous absence of the metallic phase has been challenged only in the case of low-disorder, low density, semiconducting systems where strong interactions dominate the electronic state. Unexpectedly, over the last two decades, there have been multiple reports on the observation of a state with metallic characteristics on a variety of thin-film superconductors. To date, no theoretical explanation has been able to fully capture the existence of such a state for the large variety of superconductors exhibiting it. Here we show that for two very different thin-film superconductors, amorphous indium-oxide and a single-crystal of 2H-NbSe2, this metallic state can be eliminated by filtering external radiation. Our results show that these superconducting films are extremely sensitive to external perturbations leading to the suppression of superconductivity and the appearance of temperature independent, metallic like, transport at low temperatures. We relate the extreme sensitivity to the theoretical observation that, in two-dimensions, superconductivity is only marginally stable.
Vortex dynamics is strongly connected with the mechanisms responsible for the photon detection of superconducting devices. Indeed, the local suppression of superconductivity by photon absorption may trigger vortex nucleation and motion effects, which can make the superconducting state unstable. In addition, scaling down the thickness of the superconducting films and/or the width of the bridge geometry can strongly influence the transport properties of superconducting films, e.g. affecting its critical current as well as its switching current into the normal state. Understanding such instability can boost the performances of those superconducting devices based on nanowire geometries. We present an experimental study on the resistive switching in NbN and NbTiN ultra-thin films with a thickness of few nanometers. Despite both films were patterned with the same microbridge geometry, the two superconducting materials show different behaviors at very low applied magnetic fields. A comparison with other low temperature superconducting materials outlines the influence of geometry effects on the superconducting transport properties of these materials particularly useful for devices applications.
We present low temperature tunneling density-of-states measurements in Al films in high parallel magnetic fields. The thickness range of the films, t=6-9 nm, was chosen so that the orbital and Zeeman contributions to their parallel critical fields were comparable. In this quasi-spin paramagnetically limited configuration, the field produces a significant suppression of the gap, and at high fields the gapless state is reached. By comparing measured and calculated tunneling spectra we are able to extract the value of the antisymmetric Fermi-liquid parameter G^0 and thereby deduce the quasiparticle density dependence of the effective parameter G^0_{eff} across the gapless state.
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