Experimental Investigations on Barrier Oxidation in Josephson Junctions

Josephson junctions were fabricated for several oxidation conditions and several junction sizes. Considering self-field effect suppressing the observed critical current (Ic) at large junctions, the observed Ic values were in good agreement with theoretical prediction. The predicted junction critical current for small junction limit was also confirmed by experiment. The dependence of the estimated Jc as a function of oxidation exposure showed that our junctions have lower Jc than other authors' at the same oxidation exposure. This is thought to be one of equipment-specific phenomena. Details of experimentals will be reported with brief discussion.