# US 8,571,615 B2 · Superconducting metallic glass transition-edge-sensors > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,571,615 B2 - Document ID: US8571615B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/230,653 - Filed: 2011-09-12 - Published: 2012-03-15 - Granted: 2013-10-29 - Earliest claimed: 2010-09-10 - Assignees: California Institute of Technology - Applicants: Charles C. Hays - Inventors: Charles C. Hays - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8571615B2 ## CPC - H10N 60/85: Superconducting active materials - G01R 33/035: using superconductive devices - H10N 60/01: Manufacture or treatment - H10N 60/30: Devices switchable between superconducting and normal states - H10N: ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) ## Abstract A superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor (MGTES) and a method for fabricating the MGTES are provided. A single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy is deposited on a substrate. The single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy is an absorber for the MGTES and is electrically connected to a circuit configured for readout and biasing to sense electromagnetic radiation. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for fabricating a superconducting metallic glass transition-edge-sensor (MGTES), comprising: depositing a single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy on a substrate, wherein the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy is an absorber for the MGTES and is electrically connected to a circuit configured for readout and biasing to sense electromagnetic radiation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a low-stress-silicon-nitride (LSN) substrate of varying thickness. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the MGTES is deposited onto the substrate held at or near room temperature. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the MGTES is deposited onto the substrate held between 77-300 K. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: tuning a thermal conductance of the MGTES using a membrane-isolation method to support the MGTES. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: depositing superconducting leads of the MGTES onto the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy to electrically connect to the circuit, wherein the superconducting leads are comprised of superconducting amorphous metal alloys comprised of a same alloy system as the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy, but with chemical compositions chosen such that the same alloy system exhibits a higher superconducting transition temperature, TC. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: reading out, using the circuit, one or more pixels from the MGTES using superconducting quantum interference (SQUID) amplifiers. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the biasing uses an output of the SQUID current readout in feedback to apply a bias voltage to the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy to maintain an operating point on a transition curve of the MGTES. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the MGTES is operated in a temperature range that is achieved using a closed-cycle cryogenic system that uses 3He. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising formatting the MGTES into an array having 103 or more pixels. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising changing a chemical composition of the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy to control a Tc of the MGTES. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy comprises an early-transition-metal/late-transition-metal (ETM/LTM) alloy system that exhibits superconductive behavior; and the early transition metal (ETM) elements are drawn from elements in Groups IVB, VB, and VIIB of the periodic table, and the late-transition (LTM) metal elements are drawn from elements in groups VIIIB, IB, and IIB of the periodic table. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing comprises: depositing a first metal onto the substrate; and depositing a second metal onto the substrate; wherein the first metal and the second metal are deposited under conditions to obtain the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy using a method of sputtering, atomic-layer-deposition, electron-beam evaporation, or thermal evaporation. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: the absorber comprises a modified laminated high fill-fraction array of Bi absorber structures; the absorber comprises alternating individual Bi/Au films; and a layer thickness of the Bi film increases intra-layer x-ray photon thermalization. ### Claim 15 A superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor (MGTES) comprising: a circuit configured for readout and biasing to sense electromagnetic radiation; and an absorber, for the MGTES, that is electronically connected to the circuit, wherein the absorber comprises a single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15, wherein a thermal conductance of the MGTES is tuned using a membrane-isolation type method to support the MGTES. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15 further comprising: superconducting leads that connect the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy to the circuit, wherein the superconducting leads are comprised of a different composition within a same alloy system as the superconducting amorphous metal alloys used as a thermistor element. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15, further comprising: a superconducting quantum interference (SQUID) amplifier that is used to read out, using the circuit, one or more pixels from the MGTES. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 18, wherein an output of the SQUID current readout in feedback is used to apply a bias voltage to the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy to maintain an operating point on a transition curve of the MGTES. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15 wherein the MGTES is operated in a temperature range that is achieved using a closed-cycle cryogenic system that uses 3He, a continuous adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR with 4-stages), a He3/He4 dilution refrigerator, or a cryogenic cooling system that uses liquid 4He. ### Claim 21 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15 wherein the MGTES is formatted into an array having 103 or more pixels. ### Claim 22 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15 wherein a chemical composition of the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy is changed to control a Tc of the MGTES. ### Claim 23 (depends on 15) The superconducting metallic glass transition-edge sensor of claim 15, wherein: the single-layer superconducting amorphous metal alloy comprises an early-transition-metal/late-transition (ETM/LTM) metal alloy system that exhibits superconductive behavior; and the early transition metal (ETM) elements are drawn from elements in Groups IVB, VB, and VIIB of the periodic table, and the late-transition (LTM) metal elements are drawn from elements in groups VIIIB, IB, and IIB of the periodic table.