Nano-patterning of cuprate superconductors by masked He⁺ ion irradiation:3-dimensional profiles of the local critical temperature

Irradiation of cuprate high-T_c superconductors with light ions of moderate energy creates point defects that lead to a reduction or full suppression of the critical temperature. By shaping the ion flux with a stencil mask, nanostructures for emerging superconducting electronics can be fabricated. The 3-dimensional shape of such defect landscapes is examined, based on calculations of full collision cascades and atom displacements. A relation between the calculated defect density and experimental values of the critical temperature in thin
YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ films is etablished that allows to determine the distribution of local T_c’s and its 3-dimensional visualization. The results confirm that, using 75 keV He⁺ ion irradiation and a stencil mask, well-defined patterns of non-superconducting material in the superconducting matrix can be produced with low blurring.