Structural and electrical characterization of ultra-thin SrTiO3 tunnel barriers grown over YBa2Cu3O7 electrodes for the development of high Tc Josephson junctions

L. AVILÉS FÉLIX; M. SIRENA; L A AGUERO GUZMAN , J GONZALEZ SUTTER , S PONS VARGAS; L.B. STEREN; R BERNARD, J TRASTOY, J E VILLEGAS, J BRIATICO; N BERGEAL, J LESUEUR; G FAINI

NANOTECHNOLOGY

IOP PUBLISHING LTD

Año: 2012 vol. 23 p. 495715 - 495720

0957-4484

The transport properties of ultra-thin SrTiO3 (STO) layers grown over YBa2Cu3O7 electrodes were studied by conductive atomic force microscopy at the nano-scale. A very good control of the barrier thickness was achieved during the deposition process. A phenomenological approach was used to obtain critical parameters regarding the structural and electrical properties of the system. The STO layers present an energy barrier of 0.9 eV and an attenuation length of 0.23 nm, indicating very good insulating properties for the development of high-quality Josephson junctions.