Quantum device applications of mesoscopic superconductivity

The work involves a study of physical phenomena that take place at very small length scales, below one micro-meter. At temperatures roughly below one degree Kelvin, quantum-mechanical effects may rule in electronic transport. Macroscopic quantum-coherent effects that occur in metallic superconducting microstructures, are particularly intriguing. Large-scale quantum information processing is widely believed to be attainable utilizing such physical systems. This work concentrates on answering the question of how the described quantum-mechanical systems may be used as sensitive measuring devices. Considerable attention is paid to energy-storing metallic microstructures whose electrical properties resemble those of the familiar inductor or capacitor. This research involves primarily experimental investigations conducted around temperatures of 0.1 Kelvin. Methods both at low and at radio frequencies have been used. The experimental findings have been modelled theoretically, and theoretical concepts for new physical phenomena have been introduced. An inductively measured radio-frequency Cooper-pair transistor, the L-SET, has been developed and experimentally verified in this work. Being highly sensitive, fast, and non-invasive, the L-SET appears to be the most promising method for measuring electric charge. Sensitivity in charge measurements of 20 millionths of the electron charge (micro-e) within one second, and an input bandwidth of 100 MHz, have been demonstrated. It has been shown theoretically that the ultimate measurement accuracy is about 0.1 micro-e within a second. A new phase detector based on the Cooper-pair transistor has been proposed. This system has also been shown to be potentially usable as a quantum bit. A new type of radio-frequency single-electron transistor built using a multi-walled carbon nanotube has been fabricated and operated. Technologies have been developed in order to make the physical nano- or microstructures. A method has been presented to fabricate non-superconducting tunnel junctions. Consequences of the inverse superconducting proximity effect on the studied superconducting structures were considered. Measurement procedures were investigated for a new low-noise nanoamplifier, the Bloch-oscillating transistor. Single superconducting tunnel junctions were tested as detectors of energy states of the environment, or of noise.reviewe