The road to magnesium diboride thin films, Josephson junctions and SQUIDs

The remarkably high critical temperature at which magnesium diboride (MgB2) undergoes transition to the superconducting state, Tc approx 40 K, has aroused great interest and has encouraged many groups to explore the properties and application potential of this novel superconductor. For many electronic applications and further basic studies, the availability of superconducting thin films is of great importance. Several groups have succeeded in fabricating superconducting MgB2 films. An overview of the deposition techniques for MgB2 thin film growth will be given, with a special focus on the in situ two-step process.