67 research outputs found
Tunable negative permeability in a three-dimensional superconducting metamaterial
We report on highly tunable radio frequency (rf) characteristics of a
low-loss and compact three dimensional (3D) metamaterial made of
superconducting thin film spiral resonators. The rf transmission spectrum of a
single element of the metamaterial shows a fundamental resonance peak at
24.95 MHz that shifts to a 25 smaller frequency and becomes
degenerate when a 3D array of such elements is created. The metamaterial shows
an \emph{in-situ} tunable narrow frequency band in which the real part of the
effective permeability is negative over a wide range of temperature, which
reverts to gradually near-zero and positive values as the superconducting
critical temperature is approached. This metamaterial can be used for
increasing power transfer efficiency and tunability of electrically small
rf-antennas.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Plasmonic Scaling of Superconducting Metamaterials
Superconducting metamaterials are utilized to study the approach to the
plasmonic limit simply by tuning temperature to modify the superfluid density,
and thus the superfluid plasma frequency. We examine the persistence of
artificial magnetism in a metamaterial made with superconductors in the
plasmonic limit, and compare to the electromagnetic behavior of normal metals
as a function of frequency as the plasma frequency is approached from below.
Spiral-shaped Nb thin film meta-atoms of scaled dimensions are employed to
explore the plasmonic behavior in these superconducting metamaterials, and the
scaling condition allows extraction of the temperature dependent superfluid
density, which is found to be in good agreement with expectations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Evidence for an anomalous current phase relation in topological insulator Josephson junctions
Josephson junctions with topological insulator weak links can host low energy
Andreev bound states giving rise to a current phase relation that deviates from
sinusoidal behaviour. Of particular interest are zero energy Majorana bound
states that form at a phase difference of . Here we report on
interferometry studies of Josephson junctions and superconducting quantum
interference devices (SQUIDs) incorporating topological insulator weak links.
We find that the nodes in single junction diffraction patterns and SQUID
oscillations are lifted and independent of chemical potential. At high
temperatures, the SQUID oscillations revert to conventional behaviour, ruling
out asymmetry. The node lifting of the SQUID oscillations is consistent with
low energy Andreev bound states exhibiting a nonsinusoidal current phase
relation, coexisting with states possessing a conventional sinusoidal current
phase relation. However, the finite nodal currents in the single junction
diffraction pattern suggest an anomalous contribution to the supercurrent
possibly carried by Majorana bound states, although we also consider the
possibility of inhomogeneity.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Phase Coherence and Andreev Reflection in Topological Insulator Devices
Topological insulators (TIs) have attracted immense interest because they
host helical surface states. Protected by time-reversal symmetry, they are
robust to non-magnetic disorder. When superconductivity is induced in these
helical states, they are predicted to emulate p-wave pairing symmetry, with
Majorana states bound to vortices. Majorana bound states possess non-Abelian
exchange statistics which can be probed through interferometry. Here, we take a
significant step towards Majorana interferometry by observing pronounced
Fabry-Perot oscillations in a TI sandwiched between a superconducting and
normal lead. For energies below the superconducting gap, we observe a doubling
in the frequency of the oscillations, arising from the additional phase
accumulated from Andreev reflection. When a magnetic field is applied
perpendicular to the TI surface, a number of very sharp and gate-tunable
conductance peaks appear at or near zero energy, which has consequences for
interpreting spectroscopic probes of Majorana fermions. Our results demonstrate
that TIs are a promising platform for exploring phase-coherent transport in a
solid-state system.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Superconducting RF Metamaterials Made with Magnetically Active Planar Spirals
Superconducting metamaterials combine the advantages of low-loss, large
inductance (with the addition of kinetic inductance), and extreme tunability
compared to their normal metal counterparts. Therefore, they allow realization
of compact designs operating at low frequencies. We have recently developed
radio frequency (RF) metamaterials with a high loaded quality factor and an
electrical size as small as 658, ( is the free space
wavelength) by using Nb thin films. The RF metamaterial is composed of truly
planar spirals patterned with lithographic techniques. Linear transmission
characteristics of these metamaterials show robust Lorentzian resonant peaks in
the sub- 100 MHz frequency range below the of Nb. Though Nb is a
non-magnetic material, the circulating currents in the spirals generated by RF
signals produce a strong magnetic response, which can be tuned sensitively
either by temperature or magnetic field thanks to the superconducting nature of
the design. We have also observed strong nonlinearity and meta-stable jumps in
the transmission data with increasing RF input power until the Nb is driven
into the normal state. We discuss the factors modifying the induced magnetic
response from single and 1-D arrays of spirals in the light of numerical
simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
Rebuttal to "Comment by V.M. Krasnov on 'Counterintuitive consequence of heating in strongly-driven intrinsic junctions of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d Mesas' "
In our article [1], we found that with increasing dissipation there is a
clear, systematic shift and sharpening of the conductance peak along with the
disappearance of the higher-bias dip/hump features (DHF), for a stack of
intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of intercalated Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta}
(Bi2212). Our work agrees with Zhu et al [2] on unintercalated, pristine
Bi2212, as both studies show the same systematic changes with dissipation. The
broader peaks found with reduced dissipation [1,2] are consistent with broad
peaks in the density-of-states (DOS) found among scanning tunneling
spectroscopy [3] (STS), mechanical contact tunneling [4] (MCT) and inferred
from angle (momentum) resolved photoemission spectroscopy [5] (ARPES); results
that could not be ignored. Thus, sharp peaks are extrinsic and cannot
correspond to the superconducting DOS. We suggested that the commonality of the
sharp peaks in our conductance data, which is demonstrably shown to be
heating-dominated, and the peaks of previous intrinsic tunneling spectroscopy
(ITS) data implies that these ITS reports might need reinterpretation.Comment: Rebuttal to Comment of Krasnov arXiv:1007.451
Dynamical Gate Tunable Supercurrents in Topological Josephson Junctions
Josephson junctions made of closely-spaced conventional superconductors on
the surface of 3D topological insulators have been proposed to host Andreev
bound states (ABSs) which can include Majorana fermions. Here, we present an
extensive study of the supercurrent carried by low energy ABSs in
Nb/BiSe/Nb Josephson junctions in various SQUIDs as we modulate the
carrier density in the BiSe barriers through electrostatic top gates.
As previously reported, we find a precipitous drop in the Josephson current at
a critical value of the voltage applied to the top gate. This drop has been
attributed to a transition where the topologically trivial 2DEG at the surface
is nearly depleted, causing a shift in the spatial location and change in
nature of the helical surface states. We present measurements that support this
picture by revealing qualitative changes in the temperature and magnetic field
dependence of the critical current across this transition. In particular, we
observe pronounced fluctuations in the critical current near total depletion of
the 2DEG that demonstrate the dynamical nature of the supercurrent transport
through topological low energy ABSs.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Single Junction and Intrinsic Josephson Junction Tunneling Spectroscopies of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d
Tunneling spectroscopy measurements are reported on optimally-doped and
overdoped BiSrCaCuO single crystals. A novel
point contact method is used to obtain superconductor-insulator-normal metal
(SIN) and SIS break junctions as well as intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJ)
from nanoscale crystals. Three junction types are obtained on the same crystal
to compare the quasiparticle peaks and higher bias dip/hump structures which
have also been found in other surface probes such as scanning tunneling
spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. However, our IJJ
quasiparticle spectra consistently reveal very sharp conductance peaks and no
higher bias dip structures. The IJJ conductance peak voltage divided by the
number of junctions in the stack consistently leads to a significant
underestimate of when compared to the single junction values. The
comparison of the three methods suggests that the markedly different
characteristics of IJJ are a consequence of nonequilibrium effects and are not
intrinsic quasiparticle features.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; presented at the Applied Superconductivity
Conference (October 3-8, 2004) in Jacksonville, FL; to be published in IEEE
Trans. Appl. Supercon
Robust Fabry-Perot interference in dual-gated BiSe devices
We study Fabry-Perot interference in hybrid devices, each consisting of a
mesoscopic superconducting disk deposited on the surface of a three-dimensional
topological insulator. Such structures are hypothesized to contain protected
zero modes known as Majorana fermions bound to vortices. The interference
manifests as periodic conductance oscillations of magnitude .
These oscillations show no strong dependence on bulk carrier density or sample
thickness, suggesting that they result from phase coherent transport in surface
states. However, the Fabry-Perot interference can be tuned by both top and back
gates, implying strong electrostatic coupling between the top and bottom
surfaces of topological insulator.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by Appl. Phys. Let
Large Group Delay in a Microwave Metamaterial Analog of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency
We report on our experimental work concerning a planar metamaterial exhibiting classical electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Using a structure with two mirrored split-ring resonators as the dark element and a cut wire as the radiative element, we demonstrate that an EIT-like resonance can be achieved without breaking the symmetry of the structure. The mirror symmetry of the metamaterial\u27s structural element results in a selection rule inhibiting magnetic dipole radiation for the dark element, and the increased quality factor leads to low absorption (\u3c10%) and large group index (of the order of 30)
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