de Lara, D. P., Ejrnaes, M., Casaburi, A., Lisitskiy, M., Cristiano, R., Pagano, S., et al. (2008). Feasibility investigation of NbN nanowires as detector in time-of-flight mass spectrometers for macromolecules of interest in biology (proteins). J. Low Temp. Phys., 151(3-4), 771–776.
Abstract: We are investigating the possibility of using NbN nanowires as detectors in time-of-flight mass spectrometers for investigation of macromolecules of interest in biology (proteins). NbN nanowires could overcome the two major drawbacks encountered so far by cryogenic detectors, namely the low working temperature in the mK region and the slow temporal response. In fact, NbN nanowires can work at 5 K and the response time is at least a factor 10–100 better than that of other cryogenic detectors. We present a feasibility study based on a numerical code to calculate the response of a NbN nanowire. The parameter space is investigated at different energies from IR to macromolecules (i.e. from eV to keV) in order to understand if larger value of film thickness and width can be used for the keV energy region. We also present preliminary experimental results of irradiation with X-ray photons of NbN to simulate the effect of macromolecules of the same energy.
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Arutyunov, K. Y., Ramos-Alvarez, A., Semenov, A. V., Korneeva, Y. P., An, P. P., Korneev, A. A., et al. (2016). Superconductivity in highly disordered NbN nanowires. Nanotechnol., 27(47), 47lt02 (1 to 8).
Abstract: The topic of superconductivity in strongly disordered materials has attracted significant attention. These materials appear to be rather promising for fabrication of various nanoscale devices such as bolometers and transition edge sensors of electromagnetic radiation. The vividly debated subject of intrinsic spatial inhomogeneity responsible for the non-Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer relation between the superconducting gap and the pairing potential is crucial both for understanding the fundamental issues of superconductivity in highly disordered superconductors, and for the operation of corresponding nanoelectronic devices. Here we report an experimental study of the electron transport properties of narrow NbN nanowires with effective cross sections of the order of the debated inhomogeneity scales. The temperature dependence of the critical current follows the textbook Ginzburg-Landau prediction for the quasi-one-dimensional superconducting channel I c approximately (1-T/T c)(3/2). We find that conventional models based on the the phase slip mechanism provide reasonable fits for the shape of R(T) transitions. Better agreement with R(T) data can be achieved assuming the existence of short 'weak links' with slightly reduced local critical temperature T c. Hence, one may conclude that an 'exotic' intrinsic electronic inhomogeneity either does not exist in our structures, or, if it does exist, it does not affect their resistive state properties, or does not provide any specific impact distinguishable from conventional weak links.
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Arutyunov, K. Y., Ramos-Álvarez, A., Semenov, A. V., Korneeva, Y. P., An, P. P., Korneev, A. A., et al. (2016). Quasi-1-dimensional superconductivity in highly disordered NbN nanowires. arXiv:1602.07932v1 [cond-mat.supr-con].
Abstract: The topic of superconductivity in strongly disordered materials has attracted a significant attention. In particular vivid debates are related to the subject of intrinsic spatial inhomogeneity responsible for non-BCS relation between the superconducting gap and the pairing potential. Here we report experimental study of electron transport properties of narrow NbN nanowires with effective cross sections of the order of the debated inhomogeneity scales. We find that conventional models based on phase slip concept provide reasonable fits for the shape of the R(T) transition curve. Temperature dependence of the critical current follows the text-book Ginzburg-Landau prediction for quasi-one-dimensional superconducting channel Ic~(1-T/Tc)^3/2. Hence, one may conclude that the intrinsic electronic inhomogeneity either does not exist in our structures, or, if exist, does not affect their resistive state properties.
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Ovchinnikov, Y. N., & Varlamov, A. A. (2009). Fluctuation-dissipative phenomena in a narrow superconducting channel carrying current below critical. arXiv, 0910.2659v1, 1–4.
Abstract: The theory of current transport in a narrow superconducting channel accounting for thermal fluctuations is developed. These fluctuations result in the appearance of small but finite dissipation in the sample. The value of corresponding voltage is found as the function of temperature (close to transition temperature) and arbitrary bias current. It is demonstrated that the value of the activation energy (exponential factor in the Arrenius law) when current approaches to the critical one is proportional to (1-J/Jc)^(5/4). This result is in concordance with the one for the affine phenomenon of the Josephson current decay due to the thermal phase fluctuations, where the activation energy proportional (1-J/J_c)^(3/2)(the difference in the exponents is related to the additional current dependence of the order parameter). Found dependence of the activation energy on current explains the enormous discrepancy between the theoretically predicted before and the experimentally observed broadening of the resistive transition.
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Pekker, D., Shah, N., Sahu, M., Bezryadin, A., & Goldbart, P. M. (2009). Stochastic dynamics of phase-slip trains and superconductive-resistive switching in current-biased nanowires. Phys. Rev. B, 80, 214525 (1 to 17).
Abstract: Superconducting nanowires fabricated via carbon-nanotube templating can be used to realize and study quasi-one-dimensional superconductors. However, measurement of the linear resistance of these nanowires have been inconclusive in determining the low-temperature behavior of phase-slip fluctuations, both quantal and thermal. Thus, we are motivated to study the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics in current-biased nanowires and the stochastic dynamics of superconductive-resistive switching, as a way of probing phase-slip events. In particular, we address the question: can a single phase-slip event occurring somewhere along the wire—during which the order-parameter fluctuates to zero—induce switching, via the local heating it causes? We explore this and related issues by constructing a stochastic model for the time evolution of the temperature in a nanowire whose ends are maintained at a fixed temperature. We derive the corresponding master equation as a tool for evaluating and analyzing the mean switching time at a given value of current (smaller than the depairing critical current). The model indicates that although, in general, several phase-slip events are necessary to induce switching via a thermal runaway, there is indeed a regime of temperatures and currents in which a single event is sufficient. We carry out a detailed comparison of the results of the model with experimental measurements of the distribution of switching currents, and provide an explanation for the rather counterintuitive broadening of the distribution width that is observed upon lowering the temperature. Moreover, we identify a regime in which the experiments are probing individual phase-slip events, and thus offer a way of unearthing and exploring the physics of nanoscale quantum tunneling of the one-dimensional collective quantum field associated with the superconducting order parameter.
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Sahu, M., Bae, M. - H., Rogachev, A., Pekker, D., Wei, T. - C., Shah, N., et al. (2009). Individual topological tunnelling events of a quantum field probed through their macroscopic consequences. Nature Phys., 5, 503–508.
Abstract: Phase slips are topological fluctuations that carry the superconducting order-parameter field between distinct current-carrying states. Owing to these phase slips, superconducting nanowires acquire electrical resistance. In such wires, it is well known that at higher temperatures phase slips occur through the process of thermal barrier-crossing by the order-parameter field. At low temperatures, the general expectation is that phase slips should proceed through quantum tunnelling events, which are known as quantum phase slips. However, resistive measurements have produced evidence both for and against the occurrence of quantum phase slips. Here, we report evidence for the observation of individual quantum phase-slip events in homogeneous ultranarrow wires at high bias currents. We accomplish this through measurements of the distribution of switching currents for which the width exhibits a rather counter-intuitive, monotonic increase with decreasing temperature. Importantly, measurements show that in nanowires with larger critical currents, quantum fluctuations dominate thermal fluctuations up to higher temperatures.
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Семенов, А. В., Девятов, И. А., Третьяков, И. В., Лобанов, Ю. В., Ожегов, Р. В., Петренко, Д. В., et al. (2011). Вывод уравнения типа уравнения гинзбурга-ландау для нанопроволоки вблизи критического магнитного поля. Ж. радиоэлектроники, 11, 4.
Abstract: Nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau equation for dirty supercondicting 1D wire is derived in the limit of high magnetic field.
В пределе больших магнитных полей выведено нелинейное уравнение Гинзбурга-Ландау, описывающее состояние одномерной «грязной» нанопроволоки.
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Zhizhon, Y., & Majedi, H. A. (2009). Optoelectronic mixing in the NbN superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. In Proc. SPIE (Vol. 3786, 9).
Abstract: In this paper, we present our experimental results on the electrically pumped optoelectronic mixing effect exhibited in a niobium nitride (NbN) superconducting nanowire. The experimental setup in order to test the mixer has been reported in detail. This superconductive nanowire optoelectronic mixer demonstrates photodetection and mixing in an integrated manner. We have explored both effects under a great variety of external conditions, such as temperature and bias current, in order to seek potential ways toward quantum optoelectronic detection and mixing by such nanowire device.
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Korneeva, Y., Florya, I., Vdovichev, S., Moshkova, M., Simonov, N., Kaurova, N., et al. (2017). Comparison of hot-spot formation in NbN and MoN thin superconducting films after photon absorption. In IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity (Vol. 27, 5).
Abstract: In superconducting single-photon detectors SSPD
the efficiency of local suppression of superconductivity and hotspot
formation is controlled by diffusivity and electron-phonon
interaction time. Here we selected a material, 3.6-nm-thick MoNx
film, which features diffusivity close to those of NbN traditionally
used for SSPD fabrication, but with electron-phonon interaction
time an order of magnitude larger. In MoNx detectors we study
the dependence of detection efficiency on bias current, photon
energy, and strip width and compare it with NbN SSPD. We
observe non-linear current-energy dependence in MoNx SSPD
and more pronounced plateaus in dependences of detection
efficiency on bias current which we attribute to longer electronphonon
interaction time.
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Tinkham, M., Free, J. U., Lau, C. N., & Markovic, N. (2003). Hysteretic I–V curves of superconducting nanowires. Phys. Rev. B, 68, 134515(1 to 7).
Abstract: Experimental I–V curves of superconducting MoGe nanowires show hysteresis for the thicker wires and none for the thinner wires. A rather quantitative account of these data for representative wires is obtained by numerically solving the one-dimensional heat flow equation to find a self-consistent distribution of temperature and local resistivity along the wire, using the measured linear resistance R(T) as input. This suggests that the retrapping current in the hysteretic I–V curves is primarily determined by heating effects, and not by the dynamics of phase motion in a tilted washboard potential as often assumed. Heating effects and thermal fluctuations from the low-resistance state to a high-resistance, quasinormal regime appear to set independent upper bounds for the switching current.
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