Direct-Write Printing of Josephson Junctions in a Scanning Electron Microscope

• Published in: ACS nano 2021-01, Vol.15 (1), p.322-329
• Main Authors: Blom, Tycho J, Mechielsen, Thomas W, Fermin, Remko, Hesselberth, Marcel B. S, Aarts, Jan, Lahabi, Kaveh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03656

Josephson junctions are the building blocks of superconducting electronics, with well-established applications in precision metrology and quantum computing. Fabricating a Josephson junction has been a resource-intensive and multistep procedure, involving lithography and wet-processing, which are not compatible with many applications. Here, we introduce a fully additive direct-write approach, where a scanning electron microscope can print substrate-conformal Josephson devices in a matter of minutes, requiring no additional processing. The junctions are made entirely by electron-beam-induced deposition (EBID) of tungsten carbide. We utilize EBID-tunable material properties to write, in one go, full proximity junctions with superconducting electrodes and metallic weak links and tailor their Josephson coupling. The Josephson behavior of these junctions is established and characterized by their microwave-induced Shapiro response and field-dependent transport. Our efforts provide a versatile and nondestructive alternative to conventional nanofabrication and can be expanded to print three-dimensional superconducting sensor arrays and quantum networks.