Research Highlight | Center for Nanoscale Materials

Superconducting Diode Effect via Conformal-Mapped Nanoholes

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers prepared a superconducting diode with thin film patterned with nanoscale holes.
Superconducting Diode Effect via Conformal-Mapped Nanoholes image
Fig. 1 Giant rectification effect. (a) Scanning electron microscopy image of a superconducting MoGe microbridge containing two sections with conformal-mapped (CFM) and regular triangular (TRI) arrays of nano-holes; scale bar 40 μm. (b) Dark field optical image of the CFM section with conformal arrays of nano-holes; scale bar 10 μm. The inset is an SEM image of the nano-holes with diameter of 110 nm; scale bar 1 μm. (c, d) Voltage curves and color maps of the AC current dependence of the DC voltage at various magnetic fields measured at the temperature of 5.8 K from the CFM section.

Scientific Achievement

A superconducting diode is dissipation-less and desirable for electronic circuits with ultralow power consumption. Such a device was achieved in a conventional super-conducting film patterned with a conformal array of nanoscale holes.

Significance and Impact

The switchable and reversible rectification signals can be three orders of magnitude larger than those from a flux-quantum diode.

Research Details

  • The superconducting diode effect is achieved in conventional MoGe superconducting films (50 nm thick) patterned with a conformal array of nanoscale holes (110 and 220 nm diameter) to break the spatial inversion symmetry.
  • The primary CNM capabilities used included optical and electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching.

Work was performed in part at CNM.

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23077-0

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