A Thin-Film Cryotron Suitable For Use as an Ultra-Low-Temperature Switch

Published

October 6, 2016

Author(s)

Peter J. Lowell, John A. Mates, William B. Doriese, Gene C. Hilton, Kelsey M. Morgan, Daniel S. Swetz, Joel N. Ullom, Daniel R. Schmidt

Abstract

Low-temperature superconducting circuits have become important in modern science. However, there are presently no high-current-capacity switches with low power dissipation for sub-Kelvin operation. One candidate for a sub-Kelvin switch is the cryotron, a device in which the superconductivity of a wire is suppressed with a magnetic field. Here, we demonstrate a cryotron switch suitable for sub-Kelvin temperatures. In its on state, the maximum device current is about 900 μA. The device is switched to its off state with 1.8 mA and has a leakage current less than 500 nA. The transition between the on and off states of the device is faster than 200 ns; this measurement is limited by the speed of our apparatus. Finally, we present low-temperature applications for our cryotron such as a single-pole, double-throw switch.

Citation

Applied Physics Letters

Volume

109

Issue

14

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4964345

Citation

Lowell, P. , Mates, J. , Doriese, W. , Hilton, G. , Morgan, K. , Swetz, D. , Ullom, J. and Schmidt, D. (2016), A Thin-Film Cryotron Suitable For Use as an Ultra-Low-Temperature Switch, Applied Physics Letters, [online], https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4964345 (Accessed October 13, 2025)