Physics and technology of high temperature superconducting Josephson junctions

Abstract

The controllable fabrication of reliable HTS Josephson junctions with sufficiently small spread of their characteristic parameters has not yet been achieved and prevents the successful use of HTS Josephson junctions in complex integrated circuits. The problems in HTS junction fabrication certainly are related to the specific properties of the cuprate superconductors, which make the fabrication of high quality interfaces in HTS junctions employing artificial barrier layers extremely difficult. Therefore, several types of HTS Josephson junctions make use of so-called intrinsic interfaces originating from grain boundaries or the intrinsic layer structure of the cuprates. Beyond the fabrication technology, the physics of HTS Josephson junctions is not well understood. In particular, the detailed mechanisms of charge transport in the various junctions types and the impact of an unconventional symmetry of the superconducting order parameter are unsettled issues. We summarize the key issues regarding the physics and technology of HTS Josephson junctions and discuss possible routes to a useful HTS junction technology.