InAs on Insulator: A New Platform for Cryogenic Hybrid Superconducting Electronics

TL;DR

This paper introduces InAs on insulator (InAsOI) as a novel platform for cryogenic superconducting electronics, demonstrating high-performance Josephson junctions with potential for advanced quantum devices.

Contribution

The work presents the development of InAsOI as a new substrate platform, enabling high-quality superconducting junctions with superior electrical and gating properties.

Findings

Achieved a switching current density of 7.3 μA/μm

Demonstrated Fraunhofer pattern in JJs under magnetic field

Critical temperature matched that of the superconductor used

Abstract

Superconducting circuits based on hybrid InAs Josephson Junctions (JJs) play a starring role in the design of fast and ultra-low power consumption solid-state quantum electronics and exploring novel physical phenomena. Conventionally, 3D substrates, 2D quantum wells (QWs), and 1D nanowires (NWs) made of InAs are employed to create superconducting circuits with hybrid JJs. Each platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Here, we proposed the InAs-on-insulator (InAsOI) as a groundbreaking platform for developing superconducting electronics. An epilayer of semiconducting InAs with different electron densities was grown onto an InAlAs metamorphic buffer layer, efficiently used as a cryogenic insulator to decouple adjacent devices electrically. JJs with various lengths and widths were fabricated employing Al as a superconductor and InAs with different electron densities. We achieved a switching current density of 7.3 uA/um, a critical voltage of 50-to-80 uV, and a critical temperature equal to that of the superconductor used. For all the JJs, the switching current follows a characteristic Fraunhofer pattern with an out-of-plane magnetic field. These achievements enable the use of InAsOI to design and fabricate surface-exposed Josephson Field Effect Transistors with high critical current densities and superior gating properties.