Low Temperature Properties of a Superconducting Niobium Coaxial Cable

Abstract

Semirigid coaxial cables with seamless metal shields are promising for readout from sensitive devices operating below liquid helium temperature. Low thermal conduction of such cables are also essential to reduce heat penetration into cryogenic temperature. We have developed thin semirigid coaxial cables employing niobium-titanium and niobium in both center and outer conductors, taking advantage of low thermal conductivity and extreme small electrical resistivity of superconductors. We assembled an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator and measured thermal and electrical characteristics of those superconducting coaxial cables below T c. Thin niobium coaxial cable with an outer diameter of 0.86 mm showed two-orders lower thermal conduction than expected, which is considered as the effect of impurity of niobium and forming process. Small attenuation was observed up to high frequency above 10 GHz at 3 K.