Superconducting weak-link bridge
AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorsHidetaka Higashino, Koichi Mizuno, Kentaro Setsune
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Abstract
A superconducting element includes a superconducting thin film bridge extending along the surface of a substrate, and a control electrode member for injecting quasi particles into a portion of an intersection region of the superconducting thin film bridge. The intersection region extends across the superconducting thin film bridge in a direction which is perpendicular to the current flow direction of the superconducting thin film bridge. A remaining portion of the intersection region, which is not injected with quasi particles by the control electrode member, operates as a weak-coupling bridge to thereby control the current flow within the superconducting thin film bridge.
Claims11
A superconducting element comprising:
- a substrate having a surface;
- a superconducting thin film extending lengthwise along the surface of said substrate in a first direction, the first direction coinciding with a superconducting current flow of said superconducting thin film, said superconducting thin film having opposite first and second side edge portions which define an intersection region within the superconducting thin film therebetween, the intersection region extending widthwise in a second direction which is substantially perpendicular to the first direction from the first side edge portion to the second side edge portion of the superconducting thin film;
- control electrode means, made of a nonsuperconductor material and located along a first surface portion of the intersection region of the superconducting thin film and terminating at a remaining second surface portion of the intersection region, for selectively varying a superconducting current path in the second direction of the superconducting thin film by injecting quasiparticles into the first surface portion of the intersection region of said superconducting thin film, wherein a portion of the intersection region located below the remaining second surface portion is a weak-coupling bridge region in which the superconducting current flow in said superconducting thin film is variably controlled responsive to said control electrode means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.