Abstract
We have fabricated $∂^2$$B_{z}$ /$∂x^2$ type planar gradiometers and studied their properties in operation under various field conditions. $YBa_2$$Cu_3$$O_{7}$ film was deposited on $SrTiO_3$ (100) substrate by a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) system and patterned into a device by the photolithography with ion milling technique. The device consists of 3 pickup loops designed symmetrically Inner dimension and the width of the square side loops are 3.6 mm and 1.2 mm, respectively, and the corresponding dimensions of the center loop are 2.0 mm and 1.13 mm. The length of baseline gradiometer is 5.8 mm. Step-edge junction width is 3.0 $\mu\textrm{m}$ and the hole size of the SQUID loop is 3 $\mu\textrm{m}$ ${\times}$ 52 $\mu\textrm{m}$. The SQUID inductance is estimated to be 35 pH. The device was formed on a 20 mm ${\times}$ 10 mm substrate. We have tested the behavior of the device in various field conditions. The unshielded gradiometer was stable under extremely hostile conditions on a laboratory bench. Noise level 0.45 pT/$\textrm{cm}^2$/(equation omitted)Hz and 0.84 pT/$\textrm{cm}^2$/(equation omitted)Hz at 1 Hz for the shielded and the unshielded cases, which correspond to equivalent field noises of 150 fT/(equation omitted)Hz and 280 fT/(equation omitted)Hz, respectively. In spite of the short baseline of 5.8 mm, the high common-mode-rejection-ratio of the gradiometer, $10^3$, allowed us to successfully record magnetocardiogram of a human subject, which demonstrates the feasibility of the design in biomagnetic studies.
