Critical-current reduction in thin superconducting wires due to current crowding
H. L. Hortensius, E. F. C. Driessen, T. M. Klapwijk, K. K. Berggren, J. R. Clem · Applied Physics Letters · 2012
We demonstrate experimentally that the critical current in superconducting NbTiN wires is dependent on their geometrical shape, due to current-crowding effects. Geometric patterns such as 90∘ corners and sudden expansions of wire width are shown to result in the reduction of critical currents. The results are relevant for single-photon detectors as well as parametric amplifiers.