This PhD work involves the utilization of the femtosecond laser technique to fabricate the novel S-shaped Josephson Junctions on the high - T_C superconducting YBCO thin films. Initially, it was envisaged as the title states to fabricate nano sized Josephson Junctions using this femtosecond laser technique. However in this PhD work, micron sized (1 – 2 µm) and near nano sized (500 – 800 nm) Josephson Junctions where achieved. / University of South Africa / Electrical and Mining Engineering

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This dissertation presents thermal and thermoelectric measurements of nanostructures. Because the characteristic size of these nanostructures is comparable to and even smaller than the mean free paths or wavelengths of electrons and phonons, the classical constitutive laws such as the Fourier’s law cannot be applied. Three types of nanostructures have been investigated, including nanoscale constrictions patterned in a sub-100 nm thick silicon film, monatomic thick graphene ribbons supported on a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) beam, and indium antimonide (InSb) nanowires. A suspended measurement device has been developed to measure the thermal resistance of 48-174 nm wide constrictions etched in 35-65 nm thick suspended silicon membranes. The measured thermal resistance is more than ten times larger than the diffusive thermal resistance calculated from the Fourier’s law. The discrepancy is attributed to the ballistic thermal resistance component as a result of the smaller constriction width than the phonon-phonon scattering mean free path. Because of diffuse phonon scattering by the side walls of the constriction with a finite length, the phonon transmission coefficient is 0.015 and 0.2 for two constrictions of 35 nm x 174 nm x220 nm and 65 nm x 48 nm x 50 nm size. Another suspended device has been developed for measuring the thermal conductivity of single-layer graphene ribbons supported on a suspended SiO₂ beam. The obtained room-temperature thermal conductivity of the supported graphene is about 600 W/m-K, which is about three times smaller than the basal plane values of high-quality pyrolytic graphite because of phonon-substrate scattering, but still considerably higher than for common thin film electronic materials. The measured thermal conductivity is in agreement with a theoretical result based on quantum mechanical calculation of the threephonon scattering processes in graphene, which finds a large contribution to the thermal conductivity from the flexural vibration modes. A device has been developed to measure the Seebeck coefficients (S) and electrical conductivities ([sigma]) of InSb nanowires grown by a vapor-liquid-solid process. The obtained Seebeck coefficient is considerably lower than the literature values for bulk InSb crystals. It was further found that decreasing the base pressure during the VLS growth results in an increase in the Seebeck coefficient and a decrease in the electrical conductivity, except for a nanowire with the smallest diameter of 15 nm. This trend is attributed to preferential oxidation of indium by residual oxygen in the growth environment, which could cause increased n-type Sb doping of the nanowires with increasing base pressure. The deviation in the smallest diameter nanowire from this trend indicates a large contribution from the surface charge states in the nanowire. The results suggest that better control of the chemical composition and surface states is required for improving the power factor of InSb nanowires. On approach is to use Indium-rich source materials for the growth to compensate for the loss of indium due to oxidation by residual oxygen. / text

Nous étudions un mélangeur d'ondes térahertz (THz) réalisé avec le supraconducteur à haute température critique YBaCuO en couches ultraminces (10 à 50 nm). Le travail vise à concevoir un démonstrateur portable pour la détection hétérodyne térahertz passive, avec une cryogénie simplifiée à 60-80 kelvin (projet ANR MASTHER).Le principe de détection est le bolomètre à électrons chauds (HEB) jusqu'à présent développé avec des supraconducteurs à basse température critique. L'effet HEB est mis en ¿uvre dans une constriction en YBaCuO (quelques centaines de nm de dimensions latérales). Cette structure conduit à un détecteur THz sensible et rapide (bande passante instantanée de 100 GHz). Le rayonnement THz est couplé à la constriction par une antenne planaire large bande.En premier lieu, les échanges thermiques entre réservoirs d'électrons et de phonons (YBaCuO et son substrat) sont modélisés. Nous établissons ainsi les conditions optimales pour le HEB en termes de dimensions de la constriction et de puissance de l'oscillateur local requises pour un mélange performant (gain et bruit). Par rapport aux modèles antérieurs, nous introduisons une approche de "point chaud" nouvelle incluant l'influence de la fréquence THz dans YBaCuO, ainsi que l'adaptation d'impédance entre la constriction et l'antenne. En second lieu, nous décrivons l'optimisation des étapes de micro-fabrication des HEB, en particulier les lithographies électronique et optique, pour obtenir des constrictions de 300 nm de côté. De premiers dispositifs ont été testés en détection directe infrarouge. Les performances entre des couches d'YBaCuO ultraminces préparées suivant différentes techniques sont comparées. / We report on the development of a terahertz (THz) wave mixer made from high critical temperature superconducting YBaCuO ultrathin films (10 to 50 nm). The work is part of the MASTHER ANR project aiming at a portable demonstrator for passive terahertz heterodyne detection, implementing simplified cryogenics (60 to 80 kelvin). The detection principle is that of the hot electron bolometer (HEB) so far mainly developed with low critical temperature superconductors. The HEB effect is implemented in an YBaCuO constriction (a few hundred nm in lateral dimensions). This structure can lead to a sensitive and fast THz detector (theoretical instantaneous bandwidth of 100 GHz). The THz radiation is coupled to the YBaCuO constriction by means of a wideband planar antenna. The new aspects first concern the modeling of heat exchange between electrons and phonons reservoirs (YBaCuO and its substrate). Our results establish the optimum operating conditions in terms of dimensions of the constriction and the local oscillator power required for high performance THz mixing (conversion gain and noise temperature). We are introducing in particular a new "hot spot" modeling approach, which takes into account the influence of the terahertz frequency in the YBaCuO material and the impedance matching between the antenna and the constriction. Second, we have developed and optimized the HEB micro-fabrication process in clean room, especially the electronic and optical lithography steps, to obtain constrictions of 300 nm lateral size. Our first devices have been tested by direct detection in the infrared. The performance between YBaCuO ultrathin films prepared using various techniques are compared.