Constrictions Fabricated on YBCO Thin Film using the Femtosecond Laser: Limiting Factors

In this paper we report on the development of a new application of the femtosecond laser, namely, the fabrication of micron, sub-micron and nano sized constrictions on YBCO superconductive thin films. The fabricated micron, sub-micron and nano constrictions have widths of 1.09 mu m, 705 nm and 394.8 nm, respectively. The thickness of these constrictions ranged from about 160 nm to 190 nm, as defined by the depth profile on the 3D AFM images. The length of these constrictions ranged from 7.2 mu m to 7.5 mu m. The length of these constrictions depends on the size of the laser ablation spot used for cutting and on the separation distance between the laser ablation spots along the width of the sample.