Development Of An Inductive Nis Thermometer

We have studied an inductive readout for normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junctions by using on-chip planar inductors and a DC SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) to develop a sensitive and fast thermometer for studies of nanoscale heat conduction and bolometry. Our initial results show the feasibility of the concept, with a good sensitivity for temperatures below 1 K for aluminum as the superconductor when voltage biased close to the superconductor energy gap.