Suppression of the critical current of a balanced superconducting quantum interference device

We present an experimental study of the magnetic flux dependence of the critical current of a balanced superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) with three Josephson junctions in parallel. Unlike for ordinary direct current (dc) SQUIDs, the suppression of the critical current does not depend on the exact parameters of the Josephson junctions. The suppression is essentially limited only by the inductances of the SQUID loops. We demonstrate a critical current suppression ratio of higher than 300 in a balanced SQUID with a maximum critical current 30 nA. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.