Thin Film High-Temperature Superconductor Switching Devices on Si Wafers

Future technology for fast switching HTSC devices will require large-area arrays of thin-film switches and materials and device compatibility with semiconductor devices. Advanced Fuel Research will: 1) take advantage of the high normal-state resistivity of HTSC to provide impedance matching directly to semiconductor devices, 2) utilize Si Wafer substrates to provided board-level hybrid integration with semiconductor devices, and 3) fabricate these relatively simple devices. Quality films and devices of YBCO are now fabricated on silicon wafers, using pulsed-laser deposition and a process invented at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. The proposed effort will begin development of two types of novel superconducting devices: 1) current-controlled switches, and 2) optically-triggered switches.