Superconductor-semiconductor hybrid devices

The discovery of the cuprate superconducting materials, with critical temperatures exceeding 100 K, has revived interest in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor technology. An elementary definition of a superconductor is given, and superconducting field effect transistors (SuFETs) are presented. The effect of the close proximity of the source and drain electrodes on SuFETs is detailed, and the SuFET operation is explained using the theory of the superconducting proximity effect. Another approach employing an insulating material (such as SrTiO/sub 3/), using an external gate voltage to induce superconductivity at the surface, is described. New, designs of high-T/sub c/ superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures are discussed, including a three terminal resonant tunneling transistor (RTT) making use of high-T/sub c/ electrodes. A three-terminal MIS (metal-insulator-superconductor) device using an artificial angle grain boundary (AGB) junction is also discussed. Two types of flux flow transistors (FFTs) are described.<
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