High-Temperature Superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-delta Josephson Junction Fabricated with a Focused Helium Ion Beam

As a newly developed method for fabricating Josephson junctions, a focused helium ion beam has the advantage of producing reliable and reproducible junctions. We fabricated Josephson junctions with a focused helium ion beam on our 50 nm YBa2Cu3O7 - delta (YBCO) thin films. We focused on the junction with irradiation doses ranging from 100 to 300 ions/nm and demonstrated that the junction barrier can be modulated by the ion dose and that within this dose range, the junctions behave like superconductor-normal conductor-superconductor junctions. The measurements of the I-V characteristics, Fraunhofer diffraction pattern, and Shapiro steps of the junctions clearly show AC and DC Josephson effects. Our findings demonstrate high reproducibility of junction fabrication using a focused helium ion beam and suggest that commercial devices based on this nanotechnology could operate at liquid nitrogen temperatures.