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High resolution transmission electron microscopy of Ba1−xKxBiO3 superconductor-insulator-superconductor grain boundary tunnel junctions

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Abstract

High angle boundaries in Ba1−xKxBiO3 are superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) Josephson tunnel junctions of a quality unequaled among the high temperature superconducting oxides. Electron microscopy of 24° [001] tilt boundaries reveals nominally symmetric and straight boundaries of aperiodic structure with reappearing structural units. Low {hk0} atomistic facets are predominant. A segregation layer of only 1 nm thick is identified straddling the boundary. This layer which forms naturally is insulating, pin-hole free, and surprisingly robust with a breakdown voltage which exceeds 1 × 106 V/cm, yet thin enough to allow quasiparticle tunneling, yielding reliable gap energies for theoretical comparison.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    Siu-Wai Chan

  2. Lasertron Inc., Bedford, 01730, Massachusetts, USA

    A. Kussmaul & E. H. Hartford Jr.

  3. Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, 07974, New Jersey, USA

    E. S. Hellman

Authors
  1. Siu-Wai Chan
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  2. A. Kussmaul
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  3. E. S. Hellman
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  4. E. H. Hartford Jr.
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Chan, SW., Kussmaul, A., Hellman, E.S. et al. High resolution transmission electron microscopy of Ba1−xKxBiO3 superconductor-insulator-superconductor grain boundary tunnel junctions. Journal of Materials Research 13, 1774–1779 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.1998.0250

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.1998.0250

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