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Superconducting Bridge to Nowhere
Devin Underwood (GS), Eliza Chang '12, Anthony Hoffman (postdoc), Will Shanks (postdoc), Andrew Houck (fac)
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
This microscope image shows a layer of silicon nitride, which is used to support a superconducting aluminum bridge. The bridge spans a superconducting microwave transmission line and is used to electrically connect two isolated ground planes -- essentially forming a bridge to nowhere. The strange florescent color pattern appeared when the silicon nitride did not etch uniformly across the device, and as a result regions of varying thickness formed.