Freestanding nanostructures for three-dimensional superconducting nanodevices

Free-space nanostructures are the fundamental building blocks of three-dimensional (3D) nanodevices with multi-functionality beyond that achievable by planar devices. Here we developed a reliable technique for the site-specific post-growth geometrical manipulation of freestanding superconducting nanowires using ion-beam irradiation with nanometer-scale resolution to fabricate uniformly shaped and sized clean-surface 3D nanostructures. Such structures could integrate with conventional superconducting quantum interference devices to detect magnetic fields both parallel and normal to the substrate. Property characterizations suggest that our focused-ion-beam technique allows tailoring of freestanding superconducting loops for size and geometry, potentially for lab-on-chip experiments. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3701283]