Scanning electron microscope identification of weak links in superconducting thin films

Authors

Don Monroe, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
W.S. Brocklesby, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
R.C. Farrow, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
M. Hong, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
Sy_Hwang Liou, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

September 1988

Comments

Published by American Institute of Physics. Appl. Phys. Lett., 53, 1210 (1988). © 1988 American Institute of Physics. Permission to use. Journal home page = http://jap.aip.org/jap/.

Abstract

We have used a pulsed electron beam in a scanning electron microscope to produce highly localized (~1 µm) changes in the electrical properties of a heterogeneous thin film of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ . The predominant effect of the beam is to locally heat the film, producing a measurable shift in the current-voltage characteristic. In particular, we have precisely located the part of the film responsible for a sharp feature in the current-voltage characteristic corresponding to a single Josephson junction. The technique should also be useful more generally in identifying specific weak links in superconducting thin films.