Radiation damage assessment of Nb tunnel junction devices

Ultra-low-power superconductor logic

“…This means the technology offers a low energy solution for high end computing even after taking into account the overhead of the cryocooler, on the order of 1000 W/W at 4.2 K [33]. Because the 700 GHz energy gap in Nb makes superconductors inherently radiation-hard [34], the technology may be useful for computationally intensive applications in space. Since device size and power can be scaled with temperature to remain in the noise-limited regime, the technology would be ideal for classical control, readout, and errorcorrection feedback for solid state qubits [35]…”

Effect of Helium Ion Irradiation on the Tunneling Behavior in Niobium/Aluminum–Aluminum Oxide/Niobium Josephson Junctions

“…A number of papers [8][9][10][11] have reported studies on the high-energy particle irradiation on the properties of tunnel devices. However, there is not a strong fundamental understanding of how the changes in the structural properties of the electrodes, barrier, and proximity layer influence the electrical properties.…”

“…In recent years, Josephson junctions have been widely used in applications where they are exposed to high energy particle irradiation, such as satellite-based devices and accelerator radiation detectors [8].…”

“…A number of experiments [8][9][10][11] have been reported on the effect of irradiation on the properties of tunnel devices. However, there is no published information available on the influence of irradiation on the tunneling behavior, as a result of chemical changes near the barrier interface and in the proximity layer.…”

Invited PaperJosephson readout electronics for the hybrid superconducting pixel detector

“…The radiation hardness of bu!k superconductors is well known. However very few studies have been done on the effect of ionizing radiation on Josephson Tunnel Junctions (JTJs) [2,3], and only recelitly on junctions made using state of the art Nb technology [4,5]. Lately the response of Nb-based Josephson junctions and RSFQ digital devices to a beam of 6.5 MeV protons has been investigated.…”