Premium
Front Cover (Phys. Status Solidi A 9/2010)
Author(s) -
Mandal Soumen,
Naud Cécile,
Williams Oliver A.,
Bustarret Étienne,
Omnès Franck,
Rodière Pierre,
Meunier Tristan,
Saminadayar Laurent,
Bäuerle Christopher
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201090019
Subject(s) - diamond , superconductivity , materials science , condensed matter physics , doping , nanotechnology , electron beam lithography , critical field , anisotropy , etching (microfabrication) , optoelectronics , optics , composite material , layer (electronics) , physics , resist
In the Editor's Choice article of this issue ( pp. 2017–2022 ), Mandal et al. report on the transport properties of nanostructured boron‐doped diamond thin films. Using electron beam lithography, nanostructures from boron‐doped nanocrystalline superconducting diamond have been fabricated and devices of characteristic size less than 100 nm have been prepared (see cover image, bottom left). The aspect ratio was as high as 1:3, the anisotropy of the plasma etching allowing to pattern one single grain. These structures have critical temperatures in the Kelvin range, similar to what is observed in “bulk”; only a slight decrease of T c is observed for wires thinner than 100 nm. Critical fields close to 100 mT were measured and traces of superconductivity were observed even under magnetic fields as strong as 2 T. This study proves that superconductivity in boron‐doped diamond is a very robust phenomenon which makes it a promising candidate for future applications in the field of superconducting nanoelectromechanical systems.