Bolometric Device Based on Fluxoid Quantization

This device offers extremely high sensitivity for radiometric applications.

The temperature dependence of fluxoid quantization in a superconducting loop. The sensitivity of the device is expected to surpass that of other super-conducting-based bolometric devices, such as superconducting transition-edge sensors and superconducting nanowire devices. Just as important, the proposed device has advantages in sample fabrication. Two challenges of transition edge sensor fabrication are the reproducibility of the superconducting transition temperature, T_c , and the sharpness of the transition. In the proposed device, unlike in other devices, the sample would remain in the superconducting state at all times during operation. That is to say it would be maintained at an absolute temperature, T, below its superconducting
T_c. Thus, the sharpness of the transition does not directly come into play. Also, the device can operate over a relatively wide temperature span of about 0.70 T_c to 0.95 T_c. Therefore, reproducibility of T_c is not important from sample to sample. These two advantages eliminate major challenges in device fabrication.