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In this work, we present nanoscale superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with dimensions as small as 10 nm from the high-transition-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO). The SQUID features and Josephson junctions are directly written into a 35-nm thick YBCO film with a focused helium ion beam. We integrate these nano-SQUIDs with directly written nano-isolated inductively coupled control lines to demonstrate a low power superconducting output driver capable of transimpedance conversion over a very wide temperature range of 4–50 K. 

Direct write patterning of high-transition temperature (high-TC) superconducting oxide thin films with a focused helium ion beam is a formidable approach for the scaling of high-TC circuit feature sizes down to the nanoscale. In this letter, we report using this technique to create a sensitive micro superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer with a sensing area of about 100 × 100 μm2. The device is fabricated from a single 35-nm thick YBa2Cu3O7−δ film. A flux concentrating pick-up loop is directly coupled to a 10 nm × 20 μm nano-slit SQUID. The SQUID is defined entirely by helium ion irradiation from a gas field ion source. The irradiation converts the superconductor to an insulator, and no material is milled away or etched. In this manner, a very narrow non-superconducting nano-slit is created entirely within the plane of the film. The narrow slit dimension allows for maximization of the coupling to the field concentrator. Electrical measurements reveal a large 0.35 mV modulation with a magnetic field. We measure a white noise level of 2 μΦ0/Hz1∕2. The field noise of the magnetometer is 4 pT/Hz1∕2 at 4.2 K.