432 research outputs found
Charge density wave transport in submicron antidot arrays in NbSe3
We demonstrate for the first time that a periodic array of submicrometer
holes (antidots) can be patterned into thin single NbSe3 crystals. We report on
the study of charge density wave (CDW) transport of the network of mesoscopic
units between antidots. Size of the elementary unit can be as small as 0.5
micron along the chain axis and (0.2 micron) x (0.3 micron) in cross section.
We observe size effects for Ohmic residual resistance and in CDW transport
current-voltage characteristics in submicronic networks.Comment: 4 pages with 1 table and 10 figures. Submitted to European Physical
Journa
Localization Effect in a 2D Superconducting Network without Disorder
The superconducting properties of a two-dimensional superconducting wire
network with a new geometry have been measured as a function of the external
magnetic field. The extreme localization effect recently predicted for this
periodic lattice is revealed as a suppression of the critical current when the
applied magnetic field corresponds to half a flux quantum per unit cell. For
this particular magnetic field, the observed vortex state configuration is
highly disordered.Comment: 6 pages, 2 eps figures, submitted to Physica C. Title change
The Josephson critical current in a long mesoscopic S-N-S junction
We carry out an extensive experimental and theoretical study of the Josephson
effect in S-N-S junctions made of a diffusive normal metal (N) embedded between
two superconducting electrodes (S). Our experiments are performed on Nb-Cu-Nb
junctions with highly-transparent interfaces. We give the predictions of the
quasiclassical theory in various regimes on a precise and quantitative level.
We describe the crossover between the short and the long junction regimes and
provide the temperature dependence of the critical current using dimensionless
units and where
is the Thouless energy. Experimental and theoretical results are in excellent
quantitative agreement.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, slighly modified version, publishe
A thermostable trilayer resist for niobium lift-off
We have developped a novel lift-off process for fabrication of high quality
superconducting submicron niobium structures. The process makes use of a
thermostable polymer with a high transition temperature T_{g}= 235 C and an
excellent chemical stability. The superconducting critical temperature of 100
nm wide niobium lines is above 7 K. An example of shadow evaporation of a Nb-Cu
submicron hybrid structure is given. A potential application of this process is
the fabrication of very small single electron devices using refratory metals.Comment: 6 pages, 6 eps figures, submitted to Journal of Vacuum Science and
Technology
Coherent low-energy charge transport in a diffusive S-N-S junction
We have studied the current voltage characteristics of diffusive mesoscopic
Nb-Cu-Nb Josephson junctions with highly-transparent Nb-Cu interfaces. We
consider the low-voltage and high-temperature regime eV<\epsilon_{c}<k_{B}T
where epsilon_{c} is the Thouless energy. The observed excess current as well
as the observed sub-harmonic Shapiro steps under microwave irradiation suggest
the occurrence of low-energy coherent Multiple Andreev Reflection (MAR).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, final versio
Re-entrance of the metallic conductance in a mesoscopic proximity superconductor
We present an experimental study of the diffusive transport in a normal metal
near a superconducting interface, showing the re-entrance of the metallic
conductance at very low temperature. This new mesoscopic regime comes in when
the thermal coherence length of the electron pairs exceeds the sample size.
This re-entrance is suppressed by a bias voltage given by the Thouless energy
and can be strongly enhanced by an Aharonov Bohm flux. Experimental results are
well described by the linearized quasiclassical theory.Comment: improved version submitted to Phys. Rev. lett., 4 pages, 5 included
epsf figure
Spin-Valve Effect of the Spin Accumulation Resistance in a Double Ferromagnet - Superconductor Junction
We have measured the transport properties of Ferromagnet - Superconductor
nanostructures, where two superconducting aluminum (Al) electrodes are
connected through two ferromagnetic iron (Fe) ellipsoids in parallel. We find
that, below the superconducting critical temperature of Al, the resistance
depends on the relative alignment of the ferromagnets' magnetization. This
spin-valve effect is analyzed in terms of spin accumulation in the
superconducting electrode submitted to inverse proximity effect
Resistive transport in a mesoscopic proximity superconductor
We review transport measurements in a normal metal (N) in contact with one or
two superconducting (S) islands. From the experiment, we distinguish the
Josephson coupling, the mesoscopic fluctuations and the proximity effect. In a
loop-shaped N conductor, we observe large h/2e-periodic magnetoresistance
oscillations that decay with temperature T with a 1/T power-law. This behaviour
is the signature of the long-range coherence of the low-energy electron pairs
induced by the Andreev reflection at the S interface. At temperature and
voltage below the Thouless energy , we observe the re-entrance
of the metallic resistance. Experimental results agree with the linearized
quasiclassical theory.Comment: 8 pages, 6 included epsf figures, Invited paper at the LT21
Conference, Praha, August 1996. To appear in Czech. J. of Phys. 46, Part S6
(1996
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