Optical response in high temperature superconducting thin films

Abstract

Since the discovery of a class of superconducting materials with critical temperatures as high as 125 degrees kelvin, there has been a great deal of research interest in their possible application to optical radiation detection, particularly in the infrared spectrum. The motivation for this research is the promise of a fast detector operating at elevated temperatures that is sensitive to low level optical signals and that operates out to the far IR. It has been shown that thin films of these high temperature superconductors (HTS) exhibit a change in their electrical properties when exposed to optical radiation. However, in order to make a practical detector out of HTS materials, the mechanisms of this response must be fully understood. The purpose of this research is to investigate the spectral, temporal and thermal characteristics of this electrical response in an effort to better understand the mechanisms involved.