Fast Josephson cryodetector for time of flight mass spectrometry

A fast current discriminator, based on Josephson
junctions, has been developed to boost the performance
of novel type of superconductive detectors in time-of-
flight mass-spectrometers. The Josephson discriminator
could greatly improve the mass resolution in such
machines, and it is technologically compatible with the
proposed superconductive tunnel junction detector. The
effect of intrinsic thermally induced fluctuations in
such a device has been investigated to identify the
possible operating ranges, in terms of temperature,
geometry and materials concerned. Experimental results
on the feasibility of the proposed device are also
reported.