Tuning the absorption band in the THz range of YBCO films patterned by means of HEHI lithography

High energy heavy ion lithography was used for modulating through implanted nanostructures the local structural and electrical properties of high temperature superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 films. The controlled reduction of the critical temperature of irradiated films results in a localization into heavy ion patterned micro-regions of the electrical dissipation, viable in a given temperature range and driven by ion fluence, bias current and applied magnetic field. The measurement of the response of such nanostructured YBCO films to electromagnetic radiation in the infrared band (MIR-FIR region) is presented. It turns out that the ion induced structural modification of both superconducting film and substrate is actually enabling the infrared optical absorption of YBCO, so that the viability of low noise THz detection above the liquid nitrogen temperature is shown.