Energy resolved X-ray detection in Al-Nb proximity layers

We report on our initial investigation of the response to 6 keV x-rays of composite aluminium/niobium films forming one side of a superconducting tunnel junction. The non-equilibrium state generated by the x-ray interactions that occur in the thick Nb layer is detected with high-resolution detectors...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Superconductor science & technology 1993-03, Vol.6 (3), p.203-208
Main Authors: Goldie, D J, Patel, C, Booth, N E, Salmon, G L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exact sciences and technology
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Physics
X- and γ-ray instruments and techniques
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Summary:We report on our initial investigation of the response to 6 keV x-rays of composite aluminium/niobium films forming one side of a superconducting tunnel junction. The non-equilibrium state generated by the x-ray interactions that occur in the thick Nb layer is detected with high-resolution detectors. We find a noise-limited energy resolution of 100 eV (full width at half maximum) for x-rays of incident energy 5.89 keV. The choice of a smaller gap superconductor as a probe film permits detection of the phonons generated by quasiparticle trapping from the Nb and enhancement of the initial quasiparticle number. The results also demonstrate the strong dependence of the detected signal as a function of bias voltage which is inherent in tunnel junctions between dissimilar superconductors.
ISSN:0953-2048
1361-6668
DOI:10.1088/0953-2048/6/3/008