Model design of a superconducting quantum interference device of magnetic field sensors for magnetocardiography

Collaboration between De Montfort University and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.In recent years, there has been an increase in the study of magnetocardiography (MCG), complementary to electrocardiography (ECG) research, with the purpose of increasing accuracy in the diagnosis of heart and brain pathologies. This research proposes the physical infrastructure of an advanced technology that can be used to obtain heart and brain signals from a specifically designed magnetic field. A generated magnetic sensor is proposed to sense weak magnetic fields in order to detect magnetic heart and brain activity, using interferometry methods. The method of detection of the magnetic field in the sensor, known as a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), is found in the interference that occurs during transmission of feeding currents, and the induced currents in the sensor. The sensor consists of two Josephson junctions, connected in parallel. This research presents a fabrication method and the characteristics of thin superconducting films, as an advance in the construction of a SQUID sensor. An ablation chamber is designed, and the deposition of the superconductor on a copper substrate is explored, to obtain thin films at lower cost. The results obtained show good characteristics of superconductivity which can produce a good quality magnetic sensor. There is an intention to further decrease the roughness of the material for the photo lithography process