High-temperature superconducting fault current microlimiters

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that high-temperature superconducting microbridges made from YBa2Cu3O7-delta can serve as effective fault current limiters in microelectronic devices, especially in low-power, low-temperature applications like SQUIDs and detectors.

Contribution

It introduces the design and thermal behavior analysis of superconducting microlimiters capable of efficiently limiting faults at low power levels.

Findings

Good thermal behavior enables effective fault transition.

Microlimiters operate below 1W power conditions.

Optimal refrigeration conditions are proposed.

Abstract

High-temperature superconducting microbridges implemented with YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) thin-films are shown to be possible fault current limiters for microelectronic devices with some elements working at temperatures below the superconducting critical temperature and, simultaneously, under very low power conditions (below 1W). This is the case in the important applications of superconductors as SQUID based electronics, and technologies for communication or infrared detectors. In this paper it is shown that the good thermal behavior of these microlimiters allows working in a regime where even relatively small faults induce their transition to highly dissipative states, dramatically increasing their limitation efficiency. The conditions for optimal refrigeration and operation of these microlimiters are also proposed.