Microstructure preparation 

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Laser patterning technique

Recently, a new laser-writing technique was used for patterning YBCO thin films where phase transformation from insulating YBa₂Cu₃O₆ to metallic YBa₂Cu₃O₇ and vice versa can be achieved by locally annealing the film in an oxygen or nitrogen (argon, vacuum) atmosphere respectively using a highly focused laser beam. With this technique approx. 1 micron thick oxygen-rich (superconducting) lines on oxygen-poor (insulating) film and vice versa can be produced. Since YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x at different oxygen concentrations possess different dielectric and super-conducting properties this enables us to produce a variety of electronic components (some test structures like field effect transistor have already been presented), on the other hand we could also make an array of microstrip lines and use it as a multichannel microstrip detector with high spatial resolution.

Laser patterning setup

Optical reflection micrographs of laser written microbridge on YBa₂Cu₃O₇  thin film on MgO substrate (YBa₂Cu₃O₆ insulating line)

The laser patterning technique was found to be a very convenient method for producing a superconducting microbridge detector with ability to pattern an array of microstrips separated as little as 5 microns. Microstrips produced in this way showed only negligible degradation of DC caracteristics compared to the pristine films and can be corrected or erased by local changing oxygen concentration using the same technique.

This page is mantained by Jure Demsar
e-mail: jure.demsar@ijs.si (send mail if your client supports it)
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