All‐YBa₂Cu₃O₇trilayer tunnel junctions with Sr₂AlTaO₆barrier

A new barrier material, Sr2AlTaO6, was employed in fabricating all-YBa2Cu3O7 trilayer tunnel junctions using in situ coevaporation and sputtering deposition. It was found that the superior material properties of Sr2AlTaO6 allow the use of a very thin barrier layer. A dramatic increase in the quasiparticle density of states at the YBa2Cu3O7 superconductive gap was observed for the first time from thin-film all-YBa2Cu3O7 devices. Well-defined gap structures were observed at temperatures up to 47 K. The tunneling characteristics are consistent with the typical superconductor-insulator-superconductor behavior. The temperature dependence of the superconductive gap is compared with the BCS theory.