8 research outputs found
Proximity Effect and Multiple Andreev Reflections in Chaotic Josephson junctions
We study the dc-current transport in a voltage biased superconductor-chaotic
dot-superconductor junction with an induced proximity effect(PE) in the dot. It
is found that for a Thouless energy of the dot smaller than the
superconducting energy gap , the PE is manifested as peaks in the
differential conductance at voltages of order away from the even
subharmonic gap structures . These peaks are
insensitive to temperatures but are suppressed by a weak
magnetic field. The current for suppressed PE is independent of and
magnetic field and is shown to be given by the Octavio-Tinkham-Blonder-Klapwijk
theory.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Mesoscopic proximity effect in double barrier Superconductor/Normal Metal junctions
We report transport measurements down to T=60mK of SININ and SNIN structures
in the diffusive limit. We fabricated Al-AlOx/Cu/AlOx/Cu (SININ) and
Al/Cu/AlOx/Cu (SNIN) vertical junctions. For the first time, a zero bias
anomaly was observed in a metallic SININ structure. We attribute this peak of
conductance to coherent multi-reflections of electrons between the two tunnel
barriers. This conductance maximum is quantitatively fitted by the relevant
theory of mesoscopic SININ structures. When the barrier at the SN interface is
removed (SNIN structure), we observe a peak of conductance at finite voltage
accompagnied by an excess of sub-gap conductance.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, editorially approved for publication in Phys.
Rev. B Rapid Com
Hamiltonian approach to the ac Josephson effect in superconducting-normal hybrid systems
The ac Josephson effect in hybrid systems of a normal mesoscopic conductor
coupled to two superconducting (S) leads is investigated theoretically. A
general formula of the ac components of time-dependent current is derived which
is valid for arbitrary interactions in the normal region. We apply this formula
to analyze a S-normal-S system where the normal region is a noninteracting
single level quantum dot. We report the physical behavior of time-averaged
nonequilibrium distribution of electrons in the quantum dot, the formation of
Andreev bound states, and ac components of the time-dependent current. The
distribution is found to exhibit a population inversion; and all Andreev bound
states between the superconducting gap carry the same amount of
current and in the same flow direction. The ac components of time-dependent
current show strong oscillatory behavior in marked contrast to the subharmonic
gap structure of the average current.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, LaTe
Multiple Andreev Reflection and Giant Excess Noise in Diffusive Superconductor/Normal-Metal/Superconductor Junctions
We have studied superconductor/normal metal/superconductor (SNS) junctions
consisting of short Au or Cu wires between Nb or Al banks. The Nb based
junctions display inherent electron heating effects induced by the high thermal
resistance of the NS boundaries. The Al based junctions show in addition
subharmonic gap structures in the differential conductance dI/dV and a
pronounced peak in the excess noise at very low voltages V. We suggest that the
noise peak is caused by fluctuations of the supercurrent at the onset of
Josephson coupling between the superconducting banks. At intermediate
temperatures where the supercurrent is suppressed a noise contribution ~1/V
remains, which may be interpreted as shot noise originating from large multiple
charges.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, extended versio
Non-Equilibrium Quasiclassical Theory for Josephson Structures
We present a non-equilibrium quasiclassical formalism suitable for studying
linear response ac properties of Josephson junctions. The non-equilibrium
self-consistency equations are satisfied, to very good accuracy, already in
zeroth iteration. We use the formalism to study ac Josephson effect in a
ballistic superconducting point contact. The real and imaginary parts of the ac
linear conductance are calculated both analytically (at low frequencies) and
numerically (at arbitrary frequency). They show strong temperature, frequency,
and phase dependence. Many anomalous properties appear near phi = pi. We
ascribe them to the presence of zero energy bound states.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, Final version to appear in PR