Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item Plasma Oxidized AlOx Tunnel Barriers and Nb/Al Bilayers Examined by Electrical Transport(2022) Barcikowski, Zachary Scott; Cumings, John; Pomeroy, Joshua; Material Science and Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Results are reported for two related projects: the examination of material stability of plasma oxidized, free energy confined aluminum oxide and the evolution of the electronic structure in Nb/Al bilayers as a function of Al thickness. Al/AlOx and Nb are critical materials for solid-state quantum computing, mostly driven by the relatively large superconducting gap of Nb (1.5 meV) and ∼ 2 nm diffusion limited oxide formed on Al with room temperature thermal oxidation. Plasma oxidation and free energy confinement of AlOx with Co electrodes is used to produce homogeneous tunnel barriers with an O/Al ratio approaching Al2O3. The weeks long time stability of resulting metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions is found to greatly improve, as resistance measured over ≈ 8 months increases by 34.0 ± 5.4 % in the confined devices (Co/AlOx/Co) compared to an increase of 95.4 ± 7.8 % in unconfined devices (Co/Al/AlOx/Co). In the second experiment, normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junctions are used to study the interplay of superconducting properties in Nb/Al bilayers as a function of Al thickness. The performance of superconducting quantum information devices is sensitive to thedetailed nature of the superconducting state in the materials, which is drastically altered through proximity in the case of dissimilar materials. I extract the effective Nb/Al quasiparticle DOS from the conductance spectra of NIS tunnel junctions with Nb/Al superconducting electrodes. The conductance spectra evolve from a primarily single-gapped structure for thin Al (< 20 nm) to a dual gapped structure at thicker Al. I present a modified Blonders-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) based model interpreting the conductance spectra as a steady-state convolution of the Al-like DOS and the Nb-like DOS in the bilayer. These results inform future device design for quantum information by providing additional grounding to current proximity effect theory.Item Hybridization and enhancement processes in quasi-two dimensional superconductors(2019) Raines, Zachary Mark; Galitski, Victor M; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Superconductivity is a field with a great many branches and applications. In this dissertation, we focus on two specific processes in superconductors -- light-induced enhancement and hybridization of collective modes -- in two types of quasi-two dimensional materials -- either the loosely coupled planes of a layered superconductor or a superconducting thin film. Motivated by experiments in the cuprates that have seen evidence of a transient superconducting state upon optical excitation we study the effects of inter-plane tunneling on the competition between superconductivity and charge order. We find that an optical pump can suppress the charge order and simultaneously enhance superconductivity, due to the inherent competition between the two. Taking into account that the charge order empirically shows a broad peak in c-axis momentum, we consider a model of randomly oriented charge ordering domains and study how interlayer coupling affects the competition of this order with superconductivity. Also in the cuprates, several groups have reported observations of collective modes of the charge order present in underdoped cuprates. Motivated by these experiments, we study theoretically the oscillations of the order parameters, both in the case of pure charge order, and for charge order coexisting with superconductivity. Using a hot-spot approximation we find in the coexistence regime two Higgs modes arising from hybridization of the amplitude oscillations of the different order parameters. We explore the damping channels of these hybrid modes. As another means of enhancing superconductivity we consider coupling a two-dimensional superconducting film to the quantized electromagnetic modes of a microwave resonator cavity. We find that when the photon and quasiparticle systems are out of thermal equilibrium, a redistribution of quasiparticles into a more favorable non-equilibrium steady-state occurs, thereby enhancing superconductivity in the sample, a fluctuation analog of a phenomenon known as the Eliashberg effect. Finally, following the recent success of realizing exciton-polariton condensates in cavities, we examine the hybridization of cavity photons with two types of collective modes in superconductors. Enabled by the recently predicted and observed supercurrent-induced linear coupling between these excitations and light, we find that significant hybridization between the superconductor's collective modes and resonant cavity photons can occur.Item Measuring Electromagnetic Properties of Superconductors in High and Localized RF Magnetic Field(2013) Tai, Tamin; Anlage, Steven Mark; Electrical Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Niobium-based Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) particle accelerator cavity performance is sensitive to localized defects that give rise to quenches at high accelerating gradients. In order to identify these material defects on bulk Nb surfaces at their operating frequency and temperature, it is important to develop a new kind of wide bandwidth microwave microscopy with localized and strong RF magnetic fields. A novel near-field magnetic field microwave microscope that enables mapping of the local electrodynamic response in the multi-GHz frequency regime at liquid helium cryogenic temperatures was successful built via the combination of a magnetic writer and a near field-microwave microscope [1] [2]. This magnetic writer can create a localized and strong RF magnetic field and should achieve a condition with Bsurface ~150 mT and sub-micron resolution (Chapter 3). Our objective is to study the extreme and local electrodynamic properties of Niobium (Nb), and to relate these properties to specific defects that limit the ultimate RF performance of superconducting radio frequency cavities made from Nb. Therefore, in this dissertation, many superconducting materials, especially the candidate materials for superconducting RF cavities, were tested at a fixed location to analyze the local electrodynamic response through linear and nonlinear microwave measurements. For the linear measurement (Chapter 4), many fundamental properties of RF superconductivity such as the critical temperature Tc and penetration depth lambda can be identified. For the nonlinear response measurement (Chapter 5), both the intrinsic and extrinsic nonlinearities from the superconductors are excited by our magnetic write head probe. Many models are introduced to identify the measured nonlinearity, including the intrinsic nonlinearity from the modulation of the superconducting order parameter near Tc, and the extrinsic nonlinearity from the moving vortex model, weak-link Josephson effect, and the possible nonlinear mechanism from switching events between the Meissner state and the mixed state. These models of extrinsic nonlinearity are studied in Chapter 6. The high transition temperature and low surface resistance of MgB2 attracts interest in its potential application in superconducting radio frequency accelerating cavities. However, compared to traditional Nb cavities, the viability of MgB2 at high RF fields is still open to question. Hence, in Chapter 7, two-gap high quality MgB2 films with thickness 50 nm, fabricated by a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition technique on dielectric substrates, are measured at a fixed location to investigate its RF properties. The third harmonic measurement on MgB2 films shows different nonlinear mechanisms compared to the bulk Nb measurement [3] . We conclude that the nonlinear response for the high quality MgB2 films at temperature less than Tc shows the nonlinearity from the moving vortices and from the following possible mechanisms: First, an intrinsic nonlinearity from the proximity-induced second Tc. Second, the intrinsic nonlinearity arising from Josephson coupling between the sigma and pi bands of the two gap nature of MgB2. Third: The potential nonlinearity from the reported superconducting nodal gap properties. Finally the future plan to raster scan on the SRF candidate materials is proposed to relate the nonlinear electromagnetic images to the physical defects on the superconductor surface. These efforts can finally feed back to the cavity processing techniques and suggest new thoughts for alternate surface processing treatment in the future. [1] T. Tai, et al., IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 21, 2615, (2011). [2] T. Tai et al., IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 23, 7100104, (2013). [3] T. Tai et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 15, 122002, (2012).Item Superconducting Logic Circuits Operating With Reciprocal Magnetic Flux Quanta(2011) Oberg, Oliver Timothy; Wellstood, Frederick; Herr, Anna; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Complimentary Medal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology is expected to soon reach its fundamental limits of operation. The fundamental speed limit of about 4 GHz has already effectively been sidestepped by parallelization. This increases raw processing power but does nothing to improve power dissipation or latency. One approach for increasing computing performance involves using superconducting digital logic circuits. In this thesis I describe a new kind of superconducting logic, invented by Quentin Herr at Northrop Grumman, which uses reciprocal pairs of quantized single magnetic flux pulses to encode classical bits. In Reciprocal Quantum Logic (RQL) the data is encoded in integer units of the magnetic flux quantum. RQL gates operate without the bias resistors of previous superconducting logic families and dissipate several orders of magnitude less power. I demonstrate the basic operation of key RQL gates (AndOr, AnotB, Set/Reset) and show their self-resetting properties. Together, these gates form a universal logic set and provide memory capabilities. Experiments measuring the bit error rate of the AndOr gate extrapolated a minimum BER of 10-480 and a BER of 10-44 with 30% margins on flux biasing. I describe an analytic timing model for RQL gates which demonstrates the self-correcting timing features. From this model I derive equations for the timing behavior and operating limits. Using this timing model I ran simulations to determine correction factions for more accurate predictions at higher frequencies. Using these results, I also develop Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL) models to describe the combinational logic of RQL gates. To test the timing predictions of the timing model, I performed three experiments on Nb/AlOx/Nb circuits at 4.2 K. The first measured the time of output. The second measured the operating margins of the circuit. The third measured the maximum frequency of operation for RQL circuits. Together, these three experiments showed quantitative agreement with the model for the timing output, qualitative agreement with the limits of operation, and a projected speed limit of 50 GHz for the Hypres 4.5 kA/cm2 process. To power RQL circuits I describe a new design for power splitters and combiners which minimize standing waves. I describe a new kind of Wilkinson power splitter which required numerical optimization but proved to be adequate. I experimentally tested two new designs of the power splitter. Both showed less than 10% variation in standing waves between power splitter and combiner, making it adequate for RQL circuits. I also compared these results with the S-parameters of the power network, which also indicated that the design was adequate for RQL circuits. Finally, I tested an 8-bit Kogge-Stone architecture carry-look ahead adder designed using VHDL models. The adder contained 815 Josephson junctions and was fully functional at 6.21 GHz with a latency of 1.25 clock cycles. The adder produced the correct logical output, had a measured optimal operating point within 8% of the optimal simulated operating point, and measured power margins of 1 dB. It operated best at the designed clock amplitude of 0.88Ic and dissipated 0.570 mW of power.Item Quantum Coherent Dynamics in a dc SQUID Phase Qubit Using an LC Filter(2010) Kwon, Hyeokshin; Wellstood, Frederick C.; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A dc SQUID phase qubit consists of two Josephson junctions in a loop. One junction acts as a qubit with two lowest energy levels forming the |0> and |1> status. The second junction and the loop inductance act to isolate the qubit junction from noise. In this thesis, I report on the improvement of the relaxation time and the coherence time in a dc SQUID phase qubit that used an LC filter. I also report the measurement of anomalous switching curves. In order to improve the relaxation and coherence times, I used two isolation networks, an LC isolation network and an inductive isolation network, to decouple the device from the current bias lines. This produced a very large total effective resistance of the input leads that increases the relaxation time of the qubit. In addition, I connected a low-loss SiNx shunting capacitor across the qubit junction to reduce dielectric losses. I measured two dc SQUID phase qubits. Device DS6 had a 4 (μm)2 Al/AlOx/Al qubit junction with a critical current of 0.5 μA and a 1 pF shunting capacitor. It used an LC filter made from a 10 nH inductor and a 145 pF capacitor. The capacitors contained N-H rich SiNx which produced a loss tangent of about 7×10-4. Device DS8 had a 2 (μm)2 Al/AlOx/Al qubit junction with a critical current of 77 nA and an LC filter similar to the first one. The shunting capacitor contained Si-H rich SiNx. Using a pulse readout technique, I measured the characteristics of the qubits, including the transition spectrum, Rabi oscillations, relaxation, Ramsey fringes and state tomography. The best relaxation time T1 for device DS6 was 32 ns and 280 ns for device DS8. The best Rabi decay time T' for DS6 was 42 ns while for device DS8 it was 120 ns. From these and other data I obtained estimates for the best coherence time T2 in device DS6 of 61 ns and 76 ns in device DS8. In DS8, I observed anomalous switching curves; i.e. switching curves which were qualitatively different from conventional switching curves. In the conventional case, the switching curve for the superposition state is the weighted sum of the |0> and |1> curves, but it was not in device DS8. Instead, the switching curve shifted along the current axis as the exited state probability increased. I present a model for understanding the behavior and use this model to extract the probability to be in the excited state.Item Quantum coherent phenomena in superconducting circuits and ultracold atoms(2010) Mitra, Kaushik; Lobb, Chris J; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis consists of theoretical studies of superconducting qubits, and trapped bosons and fermions at ultracold temperature. In superconducting qubits I analyze the resonant properties and decoherence behavior of dc SQUID phase qubits, in which one junction acts as a phase qubit and the rest of the device provides isolation from dissipation and noise in the bias lead. Typically qubit states in phase qubits are detected by tunneling it to the voltage state. I propose an alternate non-destructive readout mechanism which relies on the difference in the magnetic flux through the SQUID loop due to state of the qubit. I also study decoherence effects in a dc SQUID phase qubit caused by the isolation circuit. When the frequency of the qubit is at least two times larger than the resonance frequency of the isolation circuit, I find that the decoherence time of the qubit is two orders of magnitude larger than the typical ohmic regime, where the frequency of the qubit is much smaller than the resonance frequency of the isolation circuit. This theory is extended to other similar superconducting quantum devices and has been applied to experiments from the group at the University of Maryland. I also demonstrate, theoretically, vacuum Rabi oscillations, analogous to circuit-QED, in superconducting qubits coupled to an environment with resonance. The result obtained gives an exact analytical expression for coherent oscillation of state between the system (the qubit) and the environment with resonance. Next I investigate ultracold atoms in harmonically confined optical lattices. They exhibit a `wedding cake structure' of alternating Mott shells with different number of bosons per site. In regions between the Mott shells, a superfluid phase emerges at low temperatures which at higher temperatures becomes a normal Bose liquid. Using finite-temperature quantum field theoretic techniques, I find analytically the properties of the superfluid, Bose liquid, and Mott insulating regions. This includes the finite temperature order parameter equation for the superfluid phase, excitation spectrum, Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature and vortex-antivortex pair formation (in the two dimensional case), finite temperature compressibility and density - density correlation function. I also study interacting mixtures of ultracold bosonic and fermionic atoms in harmonically confined optical lattices. For a suitable choice of parameters I find emergence of superfluid and Fermi liquid (non-insulating) regions out of Bose-Mott and Fermi-band insulators, due to finite boson and fermion hopping. I also propose a possible experiment for the detection of superfluid and Fermi liquid shells through the use of Gauss-Laguerre and Gaussian beams followed by Bragg spectroscopy. Another area I explore is ultracold heteronuclear molecules such as KRb, RbCs and NaCs. I obtain the finite and zero-temperature phase diagram of bosons interacting via short range repulsive interactions and long-ranged isotropic dipolar interactions in two-dimensions. I build an analytical model for such systems that describes a first order quantum phase transition at zero temperature from a triangular crystalline phase (analogous to Wigner crystal phase of electrons) to superfluid phase. At finite temperature the crystalline phase melts, due to topological defects, to a hexatic phase where translational order is destroyed but hexagonal orientational order is preserved. Further temperature increase leads to the melting of the hexatic phase into a normal dipolar Bose liquid.Item SUPERCONDUCTING ARTIFICIAL MATERIALS WITH A NEGATIVE PERMITTIVITY, A NEGATIVE PERMEABILITY, OR A NEGATIVE INDEX OF REFRACTION(2007-05-30) Ricci, Michael Christopher; Anlage, Steven M; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Artificial materials are media made of inclusions such that the sizes and spacing of the inclusions is much smaller than the incident electromagnetic radiation. This allows a medium to act as an effective bulk medium to electromagnetic radiation. Artificial materials can be tailored to produce desired values of the permittivity, permeability, and index of refraction at specific frequencies. The applications of this tailoring include electromagnetic cloaking, and, theoretically, subwavelength imaging resolution. However, the success of these applications depends on their sensitivity to loss. This research uses superconducting niobium (Nb) metals to create arrays of wires, split-ring resonators, and a combination of wires and split-ring resonators, with very low loss. These arrays are used to investigate properties of a medium with an index of refraction that contains a bandwidth of frequency where the real part is negative. The Nb wire arrays produce a frequency bandwidth with a negative real part of the permittivity, while the Nb split-ring resonators produce a frequency bandwidth with a negative real part of the permeability. The combination of Nb wires and Nb split-ring resonators creates an artificial medium with a negative real part of the index of refraction. The electromagnetic transmission of the wires, split-ring resonators, and combination medium is measured in a waveguide as a function of frequency, and models of the permittivity and permeability are used to fit this data. For a single Nb split-ring resonator, the change in the resonant frequency and quality factor with temperature is measured and fit with a two-fluid model of superconductivity. The change in the resonant frequency and quality factor with an applied dc H field and applied power is also measured and compared to, respectively, magneto-optical imaging and laser scanning photoresponse measurements. Bianisotropy and perturbations in the resonant frequency are investigated, and simulated with commercial electromagnetic modeling software. The electromagnetic transmission of a single Nb split-ring resonator is compared to resonators made of YBCO, Copper, and a Nb closed-ring resonator. Similar measurements are made with the single resonators embedded in a metallic wire array.Item Measurements of doping-dependent microwave nonlinear response in cuprate superconductors(2007-04-25) Mircea, Dragos Iulian; Anlage, Steven M; Electrical Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Near-field microwave techniques have been successfully implemented in the past for the local investigation of magnetic materials and high-temperature superconductors. This dissertation reports on novel phase-sensitive linear- and nonlinear response microwave measurements of magnetic thin films and cuprate superconductors and their interpretation.Item Disorder and Doping in the Oxygenated Electron-doped Superconductor PCCO(2006-08-29) Higgins, Joshua Scott; Greene, Richard L; Physics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis is composed of two parts: the first part deals with the high temperature electron-doped superconductor Pr_(2-x)Ce_(x)CuO_(4-delta); the second part deals with the diluted magnetic semiconductor Ti_(1-x)Co_(x)O_(2-delta). It is not clear why oxygen reduction and cerium doping are necessary to obtain superconductivity in the electron-doped Pr_(2-x)Ce_(x)CuO_(4-delta). I investigated the effects of oxygenation in this material using resistivity and Hall measurements. For various oxygen contents, I was able to determine that there is a separable doping and a disorder contribution to the superconducting transition temperature. I was able to quantitatively separate out these two effects and show that these two effects are opposite with regards to changes in T_(c) for overdoped thin films. The disorder component is roughly twice as large as the doping component. This analysis is also shown to be self consistent in demonstrating that the doping component of oxygen variation follows the trends of Cerium doping. For the diluted magnetic semiconductor Ti_(1-x)Co_(x)O_(2-delta), I investigated the intrinsic nature of the ferromagnetism observed in thin films. Hall effect measurements were used as the technique because ferromagnetic materials exhibit an anomalous Hall effect, which is due to an interaction between the charge carriers and the magnetic moments. I found that low carrier concentration anatase phase films did not exhibit an anomalous Hall effect, whereas high carrier concentration rutile phase films do. The presence of the anomalous Hall effect at this point cannot be attributed to an intrinsic ferromagnetism as cobalt clusters are observed in these films.