AC Josephson properties of phase slip lines in wide tin films

Current steps in the current-voltage characteristics of wide superconducting Sn films exposed to a microwave irradiation were observed in the resistive state with phase slip lines. The behaviour of the magnitude of the steps on the applied irradiation power was found to be similar to that for the current steps in narrow superconducting channels with phase slip centers and, to some extent, for the Shapiro steps in Josephson junctions. This provides evidence for the Josephson properties of the phase slip lines in wide superconducting films and supports the assumption about similarity between the processes of phase slip in wide and narrow films.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Supercond. Sci. Techno

Phase-Slip Processes in Superconducting Films: AC Josephson Effect and New Phase Transition

The resistive direct current state in wide thin superconducting films as the phase transition from superconducting to normal state is investigated in the absence of external magnetic field. We showed that the states of a wide film with increasing transport current appear in the following order: the superconducting state; the resistive vortex state; the critical state; the new vortex-free resistive state with phase-slip lines; the normal state. We detected the Shapiro current steps on the current-voltage characteristic of the wide film, which arise due to interaction of intrinsic Josephson radiation of phase-slip lines with external microwave irradiation