LOW-NOISE YBA2CU3O7-DELTA GRAIN-BOUNDARY JUNCTION DC SQUIDS

We have fabricated YBa2Cu3O7-δ grain boundary junction dc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with a square washer geometry design. The SQUIDs were formed in c-axis oriented epitaxial films with a single grain boundary of predetermined nature. These SQUIDs show perfectly periodic voltage-flux characteristics without hysteresis from 4.2 to 87 K. At 77 K intrinsic energy sensitivities of 1.5×10 -30 and 3.0×10-30 J/Hz at 10 kHz were obtained for 60 and 110 pH SQUIDs, respectively. The intrinsic energy sensitivity limited by 1/f noise at 10 Hz was 1.2×10-28 and 5.5×10-28 J/Hz. The SQUID voltage noise was found to be almost identical to the voltage noise from one of its junctions. The flux focusing effect of the washer geometry was also measured.