Electrodynamics of strongly disordered superconductors

Thin films of superconducting materials with a high resistance in the normal state, such as TiN, NbTiN, NbN and InO, are intensively studied from both an application and a fundamental point of view. A spatially inhomogeneous superconducting state can arise in these materials as a result of the strong disorder. This Thesis provides an...

Photon-detecting superconducting resonators

One of the greatest challenges in astronomy is observing star and planetary formation, redshifted distant galaxies and molecular spectral ‘fingerprints’ in the far-infrared spectrum of light, using highly sensitive and large cameras. In this thesis we investigate superconducting resonators for photon detection. In superconductors the electrons...