# Grooved Dayem nanobridges as building blocks of high-performance YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ SQUID magnetometers

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that Grooved Dayem Bridges (GDBs) significantly enhance the performance of YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋δ SQUID magnetometers by reducing noise levels through a novel fabrication technique.

## Contribution

The paper introduces Grooved Dayem Bridges as a new weak-link concept and develops a fabrication method to improve SQUID performance.

## Key findings

- Achieved white flux noise levels as low as 6 μΦ₀/√Hz.
- Reached magnetic noise levels as low as 100 fT/√Hz at 77 K.
- Reduced parasitic inductance and increased differential resistance of SQUIDs.

## Abstract

We present noise measurements performed on a YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ nanoscale weak-link-based magnetometer consisting of a Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) galvanically coupled to a $3.5 \times 3.5~$mm$^2$ pick-up loop, reaching white flux noise levels and magnetic noise levels as low as $6~\mu\Phi_0 / \sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ and $100$~fT/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ at $T=77$~K, respectively. The low noise is achieved by introducing Grooved Dayem Bridges (GDBs), a new concept of weak-link. A fabrication technique has been developed for the realization of nanoscale grooved bridges, which substitutes standard Dayem bridge weak links. The introduction of these novel key blocks reduces the parasitic inductance of the weak links and increases the differential resistance of the SQUIDs. This greatly improves the device performance, thus resulting in a reduction of the white noise.