Interaction of α-particles with superconductive Nb/AIOx/Nb structures in single junction and array configurations

The behavior of high-quality full refractory Nb tunnel junctions under α-particle irradiation is discussed. Single junction and arrays consisting of 10 and 100 series connected junctions are investigated. The samples were irradiated by α-particles from 241Am. The role of phonons generated by the α-particles in the substrate is also considered. Preliminary results are obtained concerning both charge collection and risetime spectra.