Thin Film Superconducting Devices

Techniques have been developed with which it is possible to fabricate superconducting thin film structures (“bridges”) which show Josephson-like phenomena, with a wide variety of electrical and superconducting parameters. These bridges—based on the proximity effect—are made in layered thin film substrates which have been fabricated from many different, both hard and soft, superconducting materials. The fabrication techniques and the electrical and superconducting characteristics for these proximity effect bridges including a simple low frequency $(≤ 10 GHz)$ equivalent circuit will be discussed. These bridges have been incorporated into simple thin film circuits for use as galvanometers, magnetometers, gradiometers, detector arrays, etc. Extension of these techniques to more complex superconducting thin film bridge circuits including resistors, capacitors, and inductors will be indicated.