1,432 research outputs found
Field Cooled Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions
We investigate the physics of planar annular Josephson tunnel junctions
quenched through their transition temperature in the presence of an external
magnetic field. Experiments carried out with long Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb annular
junctions showed that the magnetic flux trapped in the high-quality
doubly-connected superconducting electrodes forming the junction generates a
persistent current whose associated magnetic field affects the both the static
and dynamics properties of the junctions. More specifically, the field trapped
in the hole of one electrode combined with a d.c. bias current induces a
viscous flow of dense trains of Josephson vortices which manifests itself
through the sequential appearance of displaced linear slopes, Fiske step
staircases and Eck steps in the junction's current-voltage characteristic.
Furthermore, a field shift is observed in the first lobe of the magnetic
diffraction pattern. The effects of the persistent current can be mitigated or
even canceled by an external magnetic field perpendicular to the junction
plane. The radial field associated with the persistent current can be
accurately modeled with the classical phenomenological sine-Gordon model for
extended one-dimensional Josephson junctions. Extensive numerical simulations
were carried out to disclose the basic flux-flow mechanism responsible for the
appearance of the magnetically induced steps and to elucidate the role of
geometrical parameters. It was found that the imprint of the field cooling is
enhanced in confocal annular junctions which are the natural generalization of
the well studied circular annular junctions.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. Supercond. Sci. Technol (2020
Josephson Vortex Qubit based on a Confocal Annular Josephson Junction
We report theoretical and experimental work on the development of a Josephson
vortex qubit based on a confocal annular Josephson tunnel junction (CAJTJ). The
key ingredient of this geometrical configuration is a periodically variable
width that generates a spatial vortex potential with bistable states. This
intrinsic vortex potential can be tuned by an externally applied magnetic field
and tilted by a bias current. The two-state system is accurately modeled by a
one-dimensional sine-Gordon like equation by means of which one can numerically
calculate both the magnetic field needed to set the vortex in a given state as
well as the vortex depinning currents. Experimental data taken at 4.2K on
high-quality Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb CAJTJs with an individual trapped fluxon advocate
the presence of a robust and finely tunable double-well potential for which
reliable manipulation of the vortex state has been classically demonstrated.
The vortex is prepared in a given potential by means of an externally applied
magnetic field, while the state readout is accomplished by measuring the
vortex-depinning current in a small magnetic field. Our proof of principle
experiment convincingly demonstrates that the proposed vortex qubit based on
CAJTJs is robust and workable.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figure
Elliptic Annular Josephson Tunnel Junctions in an external magnetic field: The statics
We have investigated the static properties of one-dimensional planar
Josephson tunnel junctions in the most general case of elliptic annuli. We have
analyzed the dependence of the critical current in the presence of an external
magnetic field applied either in the junction plane or in the perpendicular
direction. We report a detailed study of both short and long elliptic annular
junctions having different eccentricities. For junctions having a normalized
perimeter less than one the threshold curves are derived and computed even in
the case with one trapped Josephson vortex. For longer junctions a numerical
analysis is carried out after the derivation of the appropriate Perturbed
sine-Gordon Equation. For a given applied field we find that a number of
different phase profiles exist which differ according to the number of
fluxon-antifluxon pairs. We demonstrate that in samples made by specularly
symmetric electrodes a transverse magnetic field is equivalent to an in-plane
field applied in the direction of the current flow. Varying the ellipse
eccentricity we reproduce all known results for linear and ring-shaped
Josephson tunnel junctions. Experimental data on high-quality Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb
elliptic annular junctions support the theoretical analysis provided self-field
effects are taken into account.Comment: 30 pages, 13 figure
Quantum Phase Transitions and Vortex Dynamics in Superconducting Networks
Josephson junction arrays are ideal model systems where a variety of
phenomena, phase transitions, frustration effects, vortex dynamics, chaos, to
mention a few of them, can be studied in a controlled way. In this review we
focus on the quantum dynamical properties of low capacitance Josephson junction
arrays. The two characteristic energy scales in these systems are the Josephson
energy, associated to the tunneling of Cooper pairs between neighboring
islands, and the charging energy, which is the energy cost to add an extra
electron charge to a neutral island. The phenomena described in this review
stem from the competition between single electron effects with the Josephson
effect. One example is the (quantum) Superconductor-Insulator phase transition
which occurs by varying the ratio between the coupling constants and/or by
means of external magnetic/electric fields. We will describe how the phase
diagram depends on the various control paramters and the transport properties
close to the quantum critical point. The relevant topological excitations on
the superconducting side of the phase diagram are vortices. In low capacitance
junction arrays vortices behave as massive underdamped particles that can
exhibit quantum behaviour. We will report on the various experiments and
theoretical treatments on quantum vortex dynamics.Comment: To be published in Physics Reports. Better quality figures can be
obtained upon reques
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