Dc SQUID Research Articles

Resonance detection of dark matter axions using a DC SQUID

A new method for searching for Dark Matter axions is proposed. It is shown that a two-contact SQUID can detect oscillating magnetic perturbations induced by the axions in a strong inhomogeneous magnetic field. A resonant signal is a steplike response in the SQUID current-voltage characteristic at a voltage corresponding to the axion mass with a height depending on the axion energy density near the Earth. The proposed experimental technique appears to be sensitive to the axions with masses $m_a\lesssim 10^{-4}$ eV, which is well-motivated by current researches both in cosmology and in particle physics.

Magnetic Interactions in a Series of Homodinuclear Lanthanide Complexes.

A series of seven isostructural homodinuclear lanthanide complexes are reported. The magnetic properties (ac and dc SQUID measurements) are discussed on the basis of the X-ray structural properties which show that the two lanthanide sites are structurally different. MCD spectroscopy of the dysprosium(III) and neodymium(III) complexes ([Dy(III)2(L)(OAc)4](+) and [Nd(III)2(L)(OAc)4](+)) allowed us to thoroughly analyze the ligand field, and high-frequency EPR spectroscopy of the gadolinium(III) species ([Gd(III)2(L)(OAc)4](+)) showed the importance of dipolar coupling in these systems. An extensive quantum-chemical analysis of the dysprosium(III) complex ([Dy(III)2(L)(OAc)4](+)), involving an ab initio (CASSCF) wave function, explicit spin-orbit coupling (RASSI-SO), and a ligand field analysis (Lines model and Stevens operators), is in full agreement with all experimental data (SQUID, HF-EPR, MCD) and specifically allowed us to accurately simulate the experimental χT versus T data, which therefore allowed us to establish a qualitative model for all relaxation pathways.

Josephson systems based on ballistic point contacts between single-band and multi-band superconductors

The Josephson effect in ballistic point contacts between single-band and multi-band superconductors was investigated. It was found that in the case of Josephson junctions formed by a single-band and an s±-wave two-band superconductor as well as by a single-band and a three-band superconductor the junctions become frustrated, showing the φ-contact properties. Depending on the ground state of a three-band superconductor with time-reversal symmetry breaking, the Josephson junction can have from one to three energy minima, some of which can be locally stable. We also study the behavior of a dc SQUID based on the Josephson junctions between single-band and multi-band superconductors. Some features on the dependences of the critical current and the total magnetic flux on the applied flux of a dc SQUID based on the Josephson point contacts between a single-band superconductor and an s±-wave superconductor, three-band superconductor with broken time-reversal symmetry and three-band superconductor without broken time-reversal symmetry as compared to the conventional dc SQUIDs based on single-band superconductors were found. The results can be used as an experimental tool to detect the existence of multi-band structure and time-reversal symmetry breaking.

A three-axis SQUID-based absolute vector magnetometer.

We report on the development of a three-axis absolute vector magnetometer suited for mobile operation in the Earth's magnetic field. It is based on low critical temperature dc superconducting quantum interference devices (LTS dc SQUIDs) with sub-micrometer sized cross-type Josephson junctions and exhibits a white noise level of about 10 fT/Hz(1/2). The width of superconducting strip lines is restricted to less than 6 μm in order to avoid flux trapping during cool-down in magnetically unshielded environment. The long-term stability of the flux-to-voltage transfer coefficients of the SQUID electronics is investigated in detail and a method is presented to significantly increase their reproducibility. We further demonstrate the long-term operation of the setup in a magnetic field varying by about 200 μT amplitude without the need for recalibration.

Theoretically Predicted and Experimentally Observed Relaxation Pathways of two Heterodinuclear 3d‐4f Complexes

Abstract The dinucleating ligand (1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1,4,7,10‐tetrayl)‐tetrakis‐(methylene)‐tetrakis(2‐methoxy‐4‐methylphenol), H4L, is well preorganized with an N4O2 octahedral site for a divalent transition metal ion and an O4 site (phenolates and methoxo donors, completed by added pivalates and solvent molecules) for lanthanide ions. Two 3d‐4f complexes ([DyIII{NiII(μ‐H2L)}piv2(OH2)]ClO4 and [DyIII{CoII(μ‐H2L)}piv2(OH2)]ClO4) were prepared and fully characterized by X‐ray molecular structures and electronic properties determined by ac and dc SQUID magnetometry. While the NiII based complex shows single‐molecule magnetism (SMM), the CoII complex does not. With an extensive quantum‐chemical analysis, this is shown to be due to a misalignment of the single ion anisotropies in the latter complex, and reasons for this are discussed.

Rock-magnetic properties of single zircon crystals sampled from the Tanzawa tonalitic pluton, central Japan

This paper reports on the rock-magnetic properties of single zircon crystals, which are essential for future work establishing the reliable paleointensity method using single zircon crystals. Zircon crystals used in this study were sampled from the Nakagawa River, which crosses the Tanzawa tonalitic pluton in central Japan. Rock-magnetic measurements were conducted on 1037 grains of zircons, but many of these measurements are below the limits of the sensitivity of the magnetometers employed. Isothermal remanent magnetizations (IRMs) of 876 zircon crystal are below the practical resolution of this study; we infer that these crystals contain no or only minute quantities of ferromagnetic minerals. The other zircon crystals contain enough magnetic minerals to be measured in the DC SQUID magnetometer. For 81 zircon crystals, IRM intensities (M IRM) are larger than 4 × 10−12 Am2, while natural remanent magnetization (NRM) intensities (M NRM) are below 4 × 10−12 Am2, indicating that these crystals are inappropriate for the paleomagnetic study. For the samples that had values of M NRM ≥ 4 × 10−12 Am2 and M IRM ≥ 4 × 10−12 Am2 (80 zircons), combining the rock-magnetic parameter, we proposed the sample-selection criteria for future study of paleointensity experiments using single zircon crystals. In the case that the samples had high coercivity (B c) values (>10 mT) or high M NRM/M IRM values (>~0.1), main remanence carriers are probably pyrrhotite and these samples are inappropriate for the paleointensity study. In the case that the samples had low B c values (<10 mT) and low M NRM/M IRM values (<~0.1), main remanence carriers seem to be nearly pure magnetite with pseudo-single-domain grain sizes, and these samples are expected to appropriate for the paleointensity study. Total thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) acquisition experiments were also carried out for 12 samples satisfying the above criteria. The TRM intensity was comparable with that of NRM, and a rough estimation of the paleointensity using NRM/TRM ratios shows field intensities consistent with the average geomagnetic field intensity at the Tanzawa tonalitic pluton for last 5 Myr.

Integration Issues of Graphoepitaxial High- &lt;inline-formula&gt; &lt;tex-math notation="TeX"&gt;${\rm T}_{\rm c}$&lt;/tex-math&gt;&lt;/inline-formula&gt; SQUIDs Into Multichannel MEG Systems

We have analyzed the possibility to construct multichannel magnetoencephalography (MEG) systems based on high-Tc direct current superconducting quantum interference devices (DC SQUIDs) with graphoepitaxial step edge Josephson junctions. A new layout of multilayer high-Tc superconducting flux transformers was tested and a new type of high-Tc DC SQUID magnetometer intended for MEG systems was realized. ameter 24 mm and a magnetic field resolution of ~4 fT/√Hz These magnetometers have a vacuum-tight capsule of outer diat 77 K. Crosstalk between adjacent sensors was estimated and measured for in-plane and axial configurations. The vibration-free cooling of sensors, minimization of the sensor-to-object distance and optimization of the sensor positions as well as the gantry design are discussed. Our findings may have implications for the next generation of noninvasive imaging techniques that will be used to understand human brain function.

Low-Pass Delta-Delta-Sigma ADC

The intrinsic low dynamic range of a DC SQUID (<; one flux quantum) usually prohibits its use as a quantizer in a high dynamic range ADC. Here we show a new ADC architecture that incorporates the DC SQUID as a quantizer while enabling dynamic range extension using digital feedback. Using the SQUID as a quantizer, we are able to construct a low pass delta-delta-sigma ADC. To accommodate bipolar signals, a carrier is injected to make the SQUID output voltage at the center of its linear range. The subtraction of carrier before applying digital feedback dominates the latency of the feedback loop measured in clock period. Low feedback latency facilitates higher integrator gain while satisfying the stability criterion, leading to higher LSB, and higher dynamic range. At higher clock frequencies, the increased feedback loop latency necessitates reducing LSB and hence reduced dynamic range. Hence the performance of such ADC does not necessarily scale with increased clock frequency. Here we present performance analysis of such ADC including functional simulation, circuit simulation, and experimental test results.

Flux qubit in a dc SQUID with the 4π period Josephson effect

We propose a superconducting flux qubit in a dc SQUID structure, formed by a conventional insulator Josephson junction and a topological nanowire Josephson junction with Majorana bound states. The zero-energy Majorana bound states transport 4π period Josephson currents in the nanowire junction. The interplay between this 4π period Josephson effect and the convectional 2π period Josephson effect in the insulator junction induces a double-well potential energy landscape in the SQUID. As a result, the two lowest-energy levels of the SQUID are isolated from the other levels. These two levels show counterpropagating supercurrents, thus can be used as a flux qubit. We reveal that this flux qubit has the merits of stability to external noises, tolerance to the deviation of system parameters, and scalability to large numbers. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to couple this flux qubit with the Majorana qubit by tuning the junction parameters, and how to use this coupling to manipulate the Majorana qubit.

Ferromagnetic ordering in NpAl2: Magnetic susceptibility and 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance

We report on the magnetic properties of the neptunium based ferromagnetic compound NpAl2. We used magnetization measurements and 27Al NMR spectroscopy to access magnetic features related to the paramagnetic and ordered states (TC=56K). While very precise DC SQUID magnetization measurements confirm ferromagnetic ordering, they show a relatively small hysteresis loop at 5K reduced with a coercive field HCo~3000Oe. The variable offset cumulative spectra (VOCS) acquired in the paramagnetic state show a high sensitivity of the 27Al nuclei spectral parameters (Knight shifts and line broadening) to the ferromagnetic ordering, even at room temperature.

Practical dc SQUID system: Devices and electronics

In order to set up a liquid helium-cooled practical dc SQUID system with acceptable noise figure, we employ a weakly damped dc SQUID with a large flux-to-voltage transfer coefficient ∂V/∂Ф in a direct readout scheme (DRS) without flux modulation. Two preamplifiers are utilized: (1) AD 797 for a so-called “single chip readout electronics” (SCRE); (2) 6 parallel-connected bipolar transistors (PCBT). The latter reduces the preamplifier voltage noise Vn but increases its current noise In, which plays a leading role in the system low-frequency noise. We introduce a current feedback circuit (CFC) consisting of an inductor Li coupled to the SQUID with mutual inductance Mi to improve the noise performance. In this work, the preamplifier In contribution and CFC are analyzed. To evaluate the In suppression with CFC, two criteria are presented. Furthermore, we establish a dimensionless parameter ξ to describe CFC quantitatively. The system noise is compared with and without CFC using the two preamplifiers. For a dc SQUID with a loop inductance of 350pH, an intrinsic noise of about 5μФ0/√Hz and a corner frequency at 2Hz are measured using PCBT with CFC.

Numerical Simulation of DC SQUID Taking Into Account Quantum Characteristic of Josephson Junction

High-temperature superconducting quantum interference devices (HTS SQUIDs) have been developed as an extremely sensitive magnetic sensor. The HTS SQUIDs are required to have high robustness with respect to the magnetic noise for stable operation in an unshielded environment and also reduced cost to widen the application range. It is, therefore, necessary to clarify the quantum magnetic behavior of the HTS SQUID. However, a simulation tool, which can consider the quantum magnetic behavior, has not been developed yet. In this paper, an equivalent circuit of a Josephson junction comprising the HTS SQUID is more properly considered to represent the quantum behavior. It can consider the ac and dc Josephson effect. The obtained results are compared with an ordinary simulation using a simplified circuit model, and the results agree well with each other. Using the proposed simulation method instead of the ordinary simulation, the current path is more accurately simulated, so this new method will be used to evaluate the robustness of the SQUID.

Possible electric-field-induced superconducting states in doped silicene.

Silicene has been synthesized recently, with experimental evidence showing possible superconductivity in the doped case. The noncoplanar low-buckled structure of this material inspires us to study the pairing symmetry of the doped system under a perpendicular external electric field. Our study reveals that the electric field induces an interesting quantum phase transition from the singlet chiral d + id′-wave superconducting phase to the triplet f-wave one. The emergence of the f-wave pairing results from the sublattice-symmetry-breaking caused by the electric field and the ferromagnetic-like intra-sublattice spin correlations at low dopings. Due to the enhanced density of states, the superconducting critical temperature of the system is enhanced by the electric field remarkably. Furthermore, we design a particular dc SQUID experiment to detect the quantum phase transition predicted here. Our results, if confirmed, will inject a new vitality to the familiar Si-based industry through adopting doped silicene as a tunable platform to study different types of exotic unconventional superconductivities.

Flux-Dependent Crossover between Quantum and Classical Behavior in a dc SQUID

In a coupled system of one classical and one quantum mechanical degree of freedom, the quantum degree of freedom can facilitate the escape of the whole system. Such unusual escape characteristics have been theoretically predicted as the "Münchhausen effect." We implement such a system by shunting one of the two junctions of a dc SQUID with an additional capacitance. In our experiments, we detect a crossover between quantum and classical escape processes related to the direction of escape. We find that, under varying external magnetic flux, macroscopic quantum tunneling periodically alternates with thermally activated escape, a hallmark of the "Münchhausen effect."

Observation and calculation of higher-order sideband transitions in a flux qubit coupled to a SQUID-based resonator

Qubit-resonator coupled systems have been intensively studied because of their potential usefulness in quantum information processing. We investigated a superconducting flux qubit coupled to a resonator mode (SQUID plasma mode) associated with a dc SQUID used to read out the qubit state. Higher-order red and blue sideband transitions with |M| = 1, 2, and 3, where M represents the change in the quantum number of the resonator state, were clearly observed away from the symmetry point. We calculated the transition matrix elements between the dressed states and examined their dependence on both the coupling strength and the flux bias for the qubit. The observation of the sidebands up to |M| = 3 is consistent with the calculation results.

Signal and noise characteristics of bi-SQUID

We present an improved analytic theory, numerical simulation, and analysis of noise characteristics of a bi-SQUID in comparison with those of a dc SQUID in an open loop configuration. The analytic theory which had been developed earlier, neglecting a pulse component of the difference of the phases of Josephson junctions, is now completed taking into account the pulse component. In the bi-SQUID, the additional Josephson junction introduces another source of fluctuations and changes its transfer function, nonlinear dynamics, and the noise spectrum transformation. Some increase in the reduced-to-input noise at low values of applied magnetic flux comes from the nonlinear flux to phase difference transformation that was introduced in bi-SQUID as a way to linearize its voltage response.

Analysis of a dc SQUID readout scheme with voltage feedback circuit and low-noise preamplifier

We analyzed the dc SQUID with voltage feedback circuit (VFC) and a low-noise room-temperature preamplifier to evaluate the feasibility of a low-noise SQUID direct-coupled readout scheme (DRS), possibly eliminating the need for a two-stage scheme employing a SQUID preamplifier. The passive VFC, connected in parallel to the SQUID, consists of a resistor Rs in series with an inductor Ls. This inductor is coupled to the SQUID by a mutual inductance Ms. The purpose of the VFC is to increase the SQUID’s flux-to-voltage transfer coefficient ∂V/∂Φ, thus reducing the preamplifier noise contribution δΦpreamp. However, at the same time, VFC introduces the thermal noise of Rs, δΦR, which may not be negligible. Generally, the noise of the readout scheme, δΦreadout, may thus include both δΦpreamp and δΦR, i.e., δΦreadout2 = δΦpreamp2 + δΦR2. To characterize the SQUID operation with VFC we introduced two dimensionless parameters, r = Rs/Rd and Δ = (Ms/Mdyn) − (Rs/Rd), where Rd and Mdyn = 1/(∂i/∂Φ) are dynamic properties of the SQUID itself. For assumed intrinsic SQUID parameters, we then numerically analyzed the dependence of δΦreadout noise components on r and Δ to determine their suitable ranges and the minimum of δΦreadout. To verify our analysis, we experimentally characterized, in liquid helium, three niobium SQUIDs with VFC, having suitably chosen r and Δ. The measured SQUID system flux noise was on the order of 1 μΦ0/√Hz, comparable to the intrinsic noise of the SQUID itself. The deduced equivalent voltage noise was comparable to that of a SQUID preamplifier in the two-stage readout. Simple single-stage ultra-low-noise SQUID DRS readout was thus demonstrated.

Graphoepitaxial high-Tc SQUIDs

The fabrication process and physical properties of graphoepitaxially engineered high-Tc direct current superconducting quantum interferometer devices (DC SQUIDs) are studied. Double buffer layers, each comprising a graphoepitaxial seed layer of YBa2Cu3O7−x and an epitaxial blocking layer of SrTiO3, were deposited over textured step edges on (001) surfaces of MgO substrates. Scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the microstructural properties of DC SQUIDs with graphoepitaxial Josephson junctions. Both direct coupled and inductively coupled high-Tc DC SQUIDs with graphoepitaxial step edge junctions and flux transformers were studied.

Analytical approximations to the dynamics of an array of coupled DC SQUIDs

Coupled dynamical systems that operate near the onset of a bifurcation can lead, under certain conditions, to strong signal amplification effects. Over the past years we have studied this generic feature on a wide range of systems, including: magnetic and electric fields sensors, gyroscopic devices, and arrays of loops of superconducting quantum interference devices, also known as SQUIDs. In this work, we consider an array of SQUID loops connected in series as a case study to derive asymptotic analytical approximations to the exact solutions through perturbation analysis. Two approaches are considered. First, a straightforward expansion in which the non-linear parameter related to the inductance of the DC SQUID is treated as the small perturbation parameter. Second, a more accurate procedure that considers the SQUID phase dynamics as non-uniform motion on a circle. This second procedure is readily extended to the series array and it could serve as a mathematical framework to find approximate solutions to related complex systems with high-dimensionality. To the best of our knowledge, an approximate analytical solutions to an array of SQUIDs has not been reported yet in the literature.

A scanning SQUID microscope with 200 MHz bandwidth

We developed a scanning DC SQUID microscope with novel readout electronics capable of wideband sensing of RF magnetic fields from 50 to 200 MHz and simultaneously providing closed-loop response at kHz frequencies. To overcome the 20 MHz bandwidth limitation of traditional closed-loop SQUIDs, a flux-modulated closed-loop simultaneously locks the SQUID quasi-static flux and flux-biases the SQUID for amplification of the RF flux up to Φ0/4 in amplitude. Demodulating the SQUID voltage with a double lock-in technique yields a signal representative of both the amplitude and phase of the RF flux. This provides 80 dB of a linear dynamic range with a flux noise density of 4 μΦ0 Hz−1/2 at 200 MHz for a Y Ba2Cu3O7 bi-crystal SQUID at 77 K. We describe the electronics’ performance and present images for RF magnetic field of the travelling wave in a coplanar waveguide, the standing wave in an open-circuited microstrip, and a surface mounted device antenna.