Fast cryogenic switches with ultra-low power dissipation are highly sought-after for control electronics of quantum computers, space applications and next generation logic circuits. However, existing high-frequency switches are often bulky, lossy or require large source-drain and gate currents for operation, making them unsuitable for many applications and difficult to interface to semiconducting devices. Here we present an electrically controlled superconducting switch based on a metallic nanowire. Transition from superconducting to resistive state is realized by tunneling of high-energy electrons from a gate contact through an insulating barrier. Operating gate currents are several orders of magnitude smaller than the nanowire critical source-drain current, effectively resulting in a voltage-controlled device. This superconducting switch is fast, self-resets from normal to superconducting state, and can operate in large magnetic fields, making it an ideal component for low-power cryogenic applications and quantum computing architectures.
@article{arxiv.2005.00462,
title = {A superconducting switch actuated by injection of high energy electrons},
author = {M. F. Ritter and A. Fuhrer and D. Z. Haxell and S. Hart and P. Gumann and H. Riel and F. Nichele},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.00462},
year = {2021}
}