Closed system fabrication of Josephson tunnel junctions

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Abstract
A technique for the fabrication of Josephson tunnel junctions without breaking vacuum and without the use of masks is presented. No chemical processing is done on either of the junction electrode surfaces. Hence, no chemical or reactive cleaning is required before the formation of the tunneling barrier. Nevertheless, standard photolithography and chemical or plasma etching can be employed for defining patterns. I-V characteristics of Nb-NbOx-Pb junctions fabricated by this method have not exhibited a ’’knee’’ at the onset of the quasiparticle current.