Characterization of quantum tunneling devices by controlled current pulses

Quantum tunneling devices constitute a prominent research area due to their use in fundamental and applied research investigations such as superconducting, magnetic and spintronic devices. The main difficulties in fabrication of such devices relies on two fronts directly related with; tunnel barrier quality i.e. absence of pinholes or hot spots, and low dissipation within the tunnel barrier material. A good tunnel barrier quality usually requires an oxygen plasma with pronounced uniformity and long oxidation time. Regarding the minimization of dissipation, in the present work, we show the development of a characterization technique based on controlled current pulses, which significantly reduces heat dissipation and thus allows a significant increase in the Tunnel Junctions lifetime. Acquiring data this way permits to reach higher tunneling current values compared to the ones obtained by standard DC characterization techniques, which are customary used in tunnel junction experiments.