• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2001

Josephson junction arrays were fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering, self-aligning and reactive ion etching technique. The Al native oxide, formed by thermal oxidation, was used as the tunneling barrier of Nb/$Al-A1_2$$O_3$Nb trilayer. The arrays have 2,000 Josephson junctions with the area of $14\mu\textrm{m}$ $\times$ $46\mu\textrm{m}$. The gap voltages were in the range of 2.5 ~2.6 mV and the spread of critical current was $\pm$11~14%. When operated at 70~94 ㎓, the arrays generated zero-crossing steps up to 2.1~2.4 V. To improve transmission of microwave power and prevent diffusion of oxygen into Nb ground-plane while depositing $SiO_2$dielectric, we applied a plasma nitridation process to the Nb ground-plane. The microwave power was well propagated in Josephson junction arrays with nitridation. The difference in microwave transmission 7an be interpreted by the surface impedance change depending on nitridation.