High Tc trilayer tunneling and Josephson junction structures made using atomic layer by layer growth

Very precise artificial structuring of high Tc heterostructures is possible using atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALL-MBE). Cuprates are combined with other oxides, such as titanates, to make atomically precise heterostructures for studying transport and interfacial effects. Titanate slabs as thin as one unit cell thick can be grown without pinholes and provide tunneling barriers for c-axis transport. Single doped unit cells of BSCCO-2212 can also be used as barriers. These give SNS Josephson junctions at temperatures as high as 65 K. Since the crystallographic structure of the barrier is identical to the structure of the 2212 electrode material, it is easily possible to stack more than junction in close proximity. This results in phase-locked operation of two junctions together