Superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin film detectors for picosecond THz pulses

Abstract

Ultra-fast THz detectors from superconducting YBa2Cu 3O7-δ (YBCO) thin films were developed to monitor picosecond THz pulses. YBCO thin films were optimized by the introduction of CeO2 and PrBaCuO buffer layers. The transition temperature of 10 nm thick films reaches 79 K. A 15 nm thick YBCO microbridge (transition temperature-83 K, critical current density at 77 K-2.4 MA/cm2) embedded in a planar log-spiral antenna was used to detect pulsed THz radiation of the ANKA storage ring. First time resolved measurements of the multi-bunch filling pattern are presented. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.