High-power on-chip microrefrigerator based on a normal- metal/insulator/superconductor tunnel junction

Fisher, Philip A.; Ullom, Joel N.; Nahum, M.

doi:10.1063/1.123943

Cited by 41 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This has been the method by which NISbased phonon coolers, i.e., refrigerators of the lattice, have been realized experimentally utilizing thin silicon nitride films and narrow silicon nitride bridges ͑Man-ninen et al Fisher et al, 1999;Luukanen et al, 2000;Clark et al, 2005͒. These devices are discussed in detail in Sec.…”

Section: G Heat Transport By Phononsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…VI.F.1͒. Increasing the junction area was experimentally addressed by Fisher et al ͑1999͒ in Al/ Al 2 O 3 / Ag refrigerators, where large cooling powers of a few tens of pW were obtained with junctions of 20ϫ 20 m 2 surface area. The reduction in electron temperature was, however, much inferior to that achievable with a submicronsized junction.…”

Section: "Si…nis Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, deposited films are often used as interlevel dielectrics for metals, for lithographic masking in diffusion and implantation processes, as well as for passivation and protective layers ͑Ghandhi, 1983; Nicollian and Brews, 1983;Sze, 1985͒. In addition, they can be used as thin amorphous membranes on which microstructured and nanostructured devices are realized ͑Nahum and Martinis, 1995; Irwin et al, 1996;Fisher et al, 1999;Luukanen et al, 2000;Clark et al, 2005;Lanting et al, 2005͒ in light of their specific electric and thermal properties ͑Manninen et al, 1997; Leivo and Pekola, 1998;Leoni et al, 2003͒. In the following we discuss those insulators which are considered relevant for microelectronic fabrication processing, i.e., silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.…”

Section: Thin-film Insulatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications

et al. 2006

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This review presents an overview of the thermal properties of mesoscopic structures. The discussion is based on the concept of electron energy distribution, and, in particular, on controlling and probing it. The temperature of an electron gas is determined by this distribution: refrigeration is equivalent to narrowing it, and thermometry is probing its convolution with a function characterizing the measuring device. Temperature exists, strictly speaking, only in quasiequilibrium in which the distribution follows the Fermi-Dirac form. Interesting nonequilibrium deviations can occur due to slow relaxation rates of the electrons, e.g., among themselves or with lattice phonons. Observation and applications of nonequilibrium phenomena are also discussed. The focus in this paper is at low temperatures, primarily below 4 K, where physical phenomena on mesoscopic scales and hybrid combinations of various types of materials, e.g., superconductors, normal metals, insulators, and doped semiconductors, open up a rich variety of device concepts. This review starts with an introduction to theoretical concepts and experimental results on thermal properties of mesoscopic structures. Then thermometry and refrigeration are examined with an emphasis on experiments. An immediate application of solid-state refrigeration and thermometry is in ultrasensitive radiation detection, which is discussed in depth. This review concludes with a summary of pertinent fabrication methods of presented devices.

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Section: G Heat Transport By Phononsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: "Si…nis Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thin-film Insulatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications

et al. 2006

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“…Soon afterwards, it was demonstrated in a different device [8] that the electrons can be cooled down below the phonon temperature of the lattice. These cooling effects have been observed in several different systems, such as a normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junction [8][9][10] and with improved performance in a related SINIS device with a double junction configuration [11,12]. Also, the exact realization of the above mentioned QDR was shown later in a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas [13].…”

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confidence: 95%

Experimental realization of a Coulomb blockade refrigerator

2014

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We present an experimental realization of a Coulomb blockade refrigerator (CBR) based on a single-electron transistor (SET). In the present structure, the SET island is interrupted by a superconducting inclusion to permit charge transport while preventing heat flow. At certain values of the bias and gate voltages, the current through the SET cools one of the junctions. The measurements follow the theoretical model down to ∼80 mK, which was the base temperature of the current measurements. The observed cooling increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, in agreement with the theory, reaching about a 15 mK drop at the base temperature. The CBR appears as a promising electronic cooler at temperatures well below 100 mK.

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“…Unfortunately it is difficult to calculate the performance of NIS junctions as coolers, having the junction parameters [12,14]. This is due to the fact that the quasiparticle energy levels in the superconductor are populated during the cooling process and the superconductor has to be cooled itself using so called normal traps for quasiparticles [12,13].…”

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confidence: 99%

Performance of cryogenic microbolometers and calorimeters with on-chip coolers

Anghel

Luukanen

Pekola

2001

Applied Physics Letters

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Astronomical observations of cosmic sources in the far-infrared and X-ray bands require extreme sensitivity. The most sensitive detectors are cryogenic bolometers and calorimeters operating typically at about 100 mK. The last stage of cooling (from 300 mK to 100 mK) often poses significant difficulties in space-borne experiments, both in system complexity and reliability. We address the possibility of using refrigeration based on normal metal/insulator/superconductor (NIS) tunnel junctions as the last stage cooler for cryogenic thermal detectors. We compare two possible schemes: the direct cooling of the electron gas of the detector with the aid of NIS tunnel junctions and the indirect cooling method, when the detector lattice is cooled by the refrigerating system, while the electron gas temperature is decreased by electron-phonon interaction. The latter method is found to allow at least an order of magnitude improvement in detector noise equivalent power, when compared to the direct electron cooling.A thermal detector system, such as a bolometer or a calorimeter, consists of a thermal sensing element (TSE) which is connected to a heat sink. The TSE typically consists of an absorber and a thermometer. The thermometer can be a transition-edge sensor [1-3], or a normal metal/insulator/superconductor NIS tunnel junction thermometer [4,5]. In this paper we address the fundamental question of whether one should cool the electrons of the detector directly, i.e. cool the TSE below the heat sink temperature, or alternatively cool the heat bath of the TSE. The principle of the NIS cooler has been introduced in Refs. [6] and [7].The sensitivity of thermal detectors is strongly influenced by the detector temperature. The figure of merit for bolometric detectors is the noise equivalent power (NEP). To calculate this quantity for thermal detectors coupled to on-chip coolers, we have to evaluate the fluctuations of the electron gas temperature due to the power exchange with the lattice, with the superconductor of the cooler (in the case of direct cooling), and due to the bias of the thermometer (see Fig. 1). We can then define the NEP as the optical input power (the power to be detected) needed to produce a change in the temperature of the electron gas equal to the square root of the mean square of these fluctuations. In the following calculations the noise introduced by the bias powerQ b is supposed to be very small.

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High-power on-chip microrefrigerator based on a normal- metal/insulator/superconductor tunnel junction

Cited by 41 publications

References 12 publications

Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications

Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications

Experimental realization of a Coulomb blockade refrigerator

Performance of cryogenic microbolometers and calorimeters with on-chip coolers

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