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We report the lowest recorded levels of 1/ f noise for graphene-based devices, at the level of S V / V 2 = S I / I 2 = 4.4 × 10 − 16 (1/Hz), measured at f = 10 Hz ( S V / V 2 = S I / I 2 < 10 − 16 1/Hz for f > 100 Hz) in large-area epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (epigraphene) Hall sensors. This performance is made possible through the combination of high material quality, low contact resistance achieved by edge contact fabrication process, homogeneous doping, and stable passivation of the graphene layer. Our study explores the nature of 1/ f noise as a function of carrier density and device geometry and includes data from Hall sensors with device area range spanning over six orders of magnitude, with characteristic device length ranging from L = 1 μm to 1 mm. In optimized graphene Hall sensors, we demonstrate arrays to be a viable route to improve further the magnetic field detection: a simple parallel connection of two devices displays record-high magnetic field sensitivity at room temperature, with minimum detectable magnetic field levels down to B min = 9.5 nT/√Hz. The remarkable low levels of 1/ f noise observed in epigraphene devices hold immense capacity for the design and fabrication of scalable epigraphene-based sensors with exceptional performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on measurements of YBa2Cu3O7-δ nanowire based Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (nanoSQUIDs) directly coupled to an in-plane pick-up loop. The pick-up loop, which is coupled predominantly via kinetic inductance to the SQUID loop, allows for a significant increase of the effective area of our devices. Its role is systematically investigated and the increase in the effective area is successfully compared with numerical simulations. Large effective areas, together with the ultra low white flux noise below 1 μΦ0√Hz, make our nanoSQUIDs very attractive as magnetic field sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulations were conducted on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson vortex flow transistors. Long HTS Josephson junctions and parallel arrays were used to experimentally and theoretically examine the performance of the transistors. Results show that the current gain is dependent on such device parameters as loop size and number of Josephson junctions.

Oxygen electromigration applied to a YBa2Cu3O nanowire can be used to tune its electrical properties. Here, we apply electromigration to YBCO nanowire-based superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and study its effect on the voltage modulation depth of the devices. Using a dc electromigration current we replenish the oxygen of the weak links, improving the critical current symmetry of the SQUIDs. AC current electromigration is used to reduce the doping level of the weak links, thus reducing their critical current and increasing differential resistance. Both type of electromigration processes are found to improve the SQUIDs performance, although the best results are obtained with ac biased electromigration, which improved the voltage modulations of the SQUIDs by a factor as high as 8. This procedure can be instrumental to fine tune ex-situ the properties of superconducting electronics where a large number of weak links are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a planar superconducting microwave resonator intended for use in applications requiring strong magnetic fields and high quality factors. In perpendicular magnetic fields of 20 mT, the niobium resonators maintain a quality factor above 25 000 over a wide range of applied powers, down to single photon population. In parallel field, the same quality factor is observed above 160 mT, the field required for coupling to free spins at a typical operating frequency of 5 GHz. We attribute the increased performance to the current branching in the fractal design. We demonstrate that our device can be used for spectroscopy by measuring the dissipation from a pico-mole of molecular spins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide, or epigraphene, provides an excellent platform for Hall sensing devices in terms of both high electrical quality and scalability. However, the challenge in controlling its carrier density has thus far prevented systematic studies of epigraphene Hall sensor performance. In this work, we investigate epigraphene Hall sensors where epigraphene is doped across the Dirac point using molecular doping. Depending on the carrier density, molecular-doped epigraphene Hall sensors reach room temperature sensitivities of SV = 0.23 V/(VT) and SI = 1440 V/(AT), with magnetic field detection limits down to BMIN = 27 nT/√Hz at 20 kHz. Thermally stabilized devices demonstrate operation up to 150 °C with SV = 0.12 V/(VT), SI = 300 V/(AT), and BMIN ∼100 nT/√Hz at 20 kHz. Our work demonstrates that epigraphene doped close to the Dirac point could potentially outperform III–V Hall elements in the extended and military temperature ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport properties of a YBa2Cu3 O 7 − δ superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) based on grooved Dayem bridge weak links are studied as a function of temperature: at high temperatures (60 K < T < T c = 89 K), the weak links show properties similar to superconductor–normal conductor–superconductor junctions, while at temperatures below 60 K, the weak links behave like short Dayem bridges. Using these devices, we have fabricated SQUID magnetometers with galvanically coupled in-plane pickup loops: at T = 77 K, magnetic field white noise levels as low as 63 fT/ Hz have been achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied both theoretically and experimentally how an LC series circuit connected in parallel to a Josephson junction influences the Josephson dynamics. The presence of the shell circuit introduces two energy scales, which in specific cases, can strongly differ from the plasma frequency of the isolated junction. Josephson junctions were manufactured using the Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb fabrication technology with various on-chip LC shunt circuits. Spectroscopic measurements in the quantum limit show excellent agreement with theory taking into account the shunt inductance and capacitance in the resistively and capacitively shunted junction model. The results clearly show that the dynamics of the system are two-dimensional, resulting in two resonant modes of the system. These findings have important implications for the design and operation of Josephson junction based quantum bits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a systematic study of the transport properties of high critical temperature superconductor (HTS) biepitaxial Josephson junctions in the submicron range. Junction performances point to more uniform and reproducible devices and to better control of d-wave intrinsic properties. Outcomes promote novel insights into the transport mechanisms across grain boundaries and encourage further developments in the control of dissipation in HTS devices. The application of nanotechnology to HTS could be an additional tool to properly engineer the junction properties to match specific circuit design also in view of the integration into hybrid quantum circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated both the temperature and the power dependence of microwave losses for various dielectrics commonly used as substrates for the growth of high critical temperature superconductor thin films. We present measurement of niobium superconducting λ/2 coplanar waveguide resonators, fabricated on MgO, LaAlO3, and (La0.3Sr0.7)(Al0.65Ta0.35)O3 (LSAT), at the millikelvin temperature range and at low input power. By comparing our results with the two-level system model, we have discriminated among different dominant loss mechanisms. LSAT has shown the best results as regards the dielectric losses in the investigated regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using nanolithography and a soft etching procedure, we have realized Y Ba2Cu3O7−x/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (YBCO/LSMO) nanowires, with cross sections down to 100 × 50 nm2 that ensure the cover age of areas up to 10 × 30 μm2. The LSMO layer acts as a capping for YBCO, minimizing the degradation of the superconducting properties taking place during the patterning; moreover, as a ferromagnetic manganite, it is expected to accelerate the relaxation dynamics of quasiparticles in YBCO, making such a system potentially attractive for applications in superconducting ultrafast optoelectronics. The reproducibility of the values of the critical current densities measured in different devices with the same geometry makes our nanowires ideal candidates for photoresponse experiments. First measurements have shown a satisfactory photoresponse from YBCO/LSMO devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results on ultra low noise YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) nano Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (nanoSQUIDs). To realize such devices, we implemented high quality YBCO nanowires, working as weak links between two electrodes. We observe critical current modulation as a function of an externally applied magnetic field in the full temperature range below the transition temperature TC. The white flux noise below 1μΦ0=√Hz p at T = 8K makes our nanoSQUIDs very attractive for the detection of small spin systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symmetry of Cooper pairs is central to constructing a superconducting state. The demonstration of a -wave order parameter with nodes represented a breakthrough for high critical temperature superconductors (HTSs). However, despite this fundamental discovery, the origin of superconductivity remains elusive, raising the question of whether something is missing from the global picture. Deviations from -wave symmetry, such as an imaginary admixture + is (or idxy), predict a ground state with unconventional properties exhibiting a full superconducting gap and time reversal symmetry breaking. The existence of such a state, until now highly controversial, can be proved by highly sensitive measurements of the excitation spectrum. Here, we present a spectroscopic technique based on an HTS nanoscale device that allows an unprecedented energy resolution thanks to Coulomb blockade effects, a regime practically inaccessible in these materials previously. We find that the energy required to add an extra electron depends on the parity (odd/even) of the excess electrons on the island and increases with magnetic field. This is inconsistent with a pure -wave symmetry and demonstrates a complex order parameter component that needs to be incorporated into any theoretical model of HTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Up to 90% of hereditary breast cancer cases are linked to germ-line mutations in one of the two copies of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Brca1 and Brca2 proteins are both involved in the cellular defence against DNA damage, although the precise function of the proteins is still not known. Some studies on a small number of samples as well as the present pilot study also suggested that BRCA1 heterozygosity may lead to impaired repair of ionizing-radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks. The purpose of the study was to test in a larger family-matched study whether carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations have an increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Materials and methods: In a blind study, the effect of different germ-line mutations in one allele of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene on the ability to repair X-ray-induced DNA breaks was investigated. Fibroblasts and lymphocytes were taken from heterozygotic individuals (BRCA1+ /- and BRCA2+ /-) with different mutations and from relatives proven to be non-carriers of the BRCA mutations. Rejoining of DNA breaks was analysed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (for fibroblasts) or the comet assay (for lymphocytes). Results: Significant interindividual differences were found in the capacities of the fibroblasts and lymphocytes to rejoin DNA breaks induced by X-radiation. However, these differences were not related to heterozygosity in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Conclusions: Cells from carriers of mutations in one allele of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have no gross defects in their ability to rejoin radiation-induced DNA breaks. Hence, these carriers may not be at risk of developing excess normal tissue reactions after radiotherapy consistent with data from recent clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the last decade the 'comet assay' or 'single cell gel electrophoresis assay' has been established as a sensitive method for the detection of DNA damage and the measurement of its recovery. The results published in the literature have often been obtained with different methods for comet structure measurement. In most cases these data are not comparable with each other. Even when using similar systems for the analysis, it is difficult to obtain matching data. This presentation will describe some technical aspects of our measurement equipment and evaluation software. It focuses on necessary experimental conditions to minimize errors in obtaining such data. The software developed here allows the rapid analysis of the microscopic samples ( 2 s per image). The image analysis was designed with respect to the morphological shapes of comet cells, which were investigated with a confocal laser microscope. The system is built with standard components which are commercially available. As a measure of the amount of DNA damage the ratio of fluorescence intensity was used inside the comet tail and the fluorescence intensity of the comet head. Other parameters such as DNA content, comet area, head radius, tail length and tail moment are also determined. The reproducibility of the system has been evaluated in several experiments over a period of 5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that under specific conditions caffeine is able to enhance radiation risk of mammalian cells by a factor of ∼1.5–2. Various mechanisms are discussed in the literature as possible explanations for this interaction. Inhibition of DNA repair plays a crucial role in the discussion, although direct evidence for this assumption is difficult to obtain. We used the ‘comet assay’ in order to analyse the significance of repair inhibition by caffeine in the two-cell stage of mammalian gestation. Our data show that at the concentration necessary for increasing radiation risk (2 mM), caffeine effectively inhibits the restitution of radiation-damaged DNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have fabricated and characterized tunable superconducting transmission line resonators. To change the resonance frequency, we modify the boundary condition at one end of the resonator through the tunable Josephson inductance of a superconducting quantum interference device. We demonstrate a large tuning range (several hundred megahertz), high quality factors (104), and that we can change the frequency of a few-photon field on a time scale orders of magnitude faster than the photon lifetime of the resonator. This demonstration has implications in a variety of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed numerical simulations and experiments on Josephson vortex flow transistors based on parallel arrays of YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7-δ] grain boundary junctions with a cross gate line allowing us to operate the same devices in two different modes named the Josephson fluxon transistor (JFT) and Josephson fluxon-antifluxon transistor (JFAT). The simulations yield a general expression for the current gain versus number of junctions and normalized loop inductance and predict higher current gain for the JFAT. The experiments are in good agreement with simulations and show improved coupling between gate line and junctions for the JFAT as compared to the JFT. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented discussing the use of echocardiography through satellite telephone.

Investigates asymmetric high temperature superconducting Josephson vortex-flow transistors (JVFT) with high current gain. Fabrication of Josephson vortex-flow transistors; Measurement of the critical current and the voltage at a fixed bias current; Discussion of the current-voltage characteristics of asymmetric JVFT.

Highlights: [•] We fabricated YBCO nanowires with lateral dimensions smaller than 50nm. [•] We compared the critical current densities of wires with and without Au capping. [•] Nanowires with Au capping carry critical currents close to the depairing limit. [•] We compared the resistive transition of wires with and without Au. [•] Soft etching and Au capping leave superconducting properties of wires close to the pristine ones. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present electric noise measurements of nanoscale biepitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) Josephson junctions fabricated by two different lithographic methods. The first (conventional) technique defines the junctions directly by ion milling etching through an amorphous carbon mask. The second (soft patterning) method makes use of the phase competition between the superconducting YBCO (Y123) and the insulating Y2BaCuO5 (Y211) phase at the grain boundary interface on MgO (110) substrates. The voltage noise properties of the two methods are compared in this study. For all junctions (having a thickness of 100 nm and widths of 250-500 nm), we see a significant amount of individual charge traps. We have extracted an approximate value for the effective area of the charge traps from the noise data. From the noise measurements, we inter that the soft-patterned junctions with a grain-boundary (GB) interface manifesting a large c-axis tunneling component have a uniform barrier and a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) -like behavior. The noise properties of soft-patterned junctions having a GB interface dominated by transport parallel to the ab planes are in accordance with a resonant tunneling barrier model. The conventionally patterned junctions, instead, have suppressed superconducting transport channels with an area much less than the nominal junction area. These findings are important for the implementation of nanosized Josephson junctions in quantum circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]