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Title: Suspended metal mask techniques in Josephson junction fabrication

Journal Article · · J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.583246· OSTI ID:5993177

We report here two processes for in-situ, self-aligned fabrication of niobium based Josephson tunnel junctions and SNS microbridges in which multiple evaporations at varying angles are made through a suspended metal stencil fabricated by electron beam lithography (EBL). Both techniques have proved superior to earlier all-polymer suspended masks, particularly with e-gun evaporated refractory metals such as niobium. The first process uses a trilevel resist and ion milling to pattern a gold stencil suspended on PMMA. In the second process, an aluminum stencil suspended on polyimide (PI) is patterned by lift-off with an EBL mask written in a PMMA layer on top of the PI. The PI is then undercut using an oxygen plasma etch through the aluminum mask. Reproducible ( +- 20 nm) submicrometer dimensions and good junction characteristics have been achieved using these techniques without the need for difficult-to-control surface cleaning procedures.

Research Organization:
Department of Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794
OSTI ID:
5993177
Journal Information:
J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B; (United States), Vol. 3:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English