4 research outputs found
Half-Integer Shapiro Steps in a Short Ballistic InAs Nanowire Josephson Junction
We report on half-integer Shapiro steps observed in an InAs nanowire
Josephson junction. We observed the Shapiro steps of the short ballistic InAs
nanowire Josephson junction and found anomalous half-integer steps in addition
to the conventional integer steps. The half-integer steps disappear as the
temperature increases or transmission of the junction decreases. These
experimental results agree closely with numerical calculation of the Shapiro
response for the skewed current phase relation in a short ballistic Josephson
junction
Quasiparticle Trapping at Vortices Producing Josephson Supercurrent Enhancement
The Josephson junction of a strong spin-orbit material under a magnetic field is a promising Majorana fermion candidate. Supercurrent enhancement by a magnetic field has been observed in the InAs nanowire Josephson junctions and assigned to a topological transition. In this work we observe a similar phenomenon but discuss the nontopological origin by considering the trapping of quasiparticles by vortices that penetrate the superconductor under a finite magnetic field. This assignment is supported by the observed hysteresis of the switching current when sweeping up and down the magnetic field. Our experiment shows the importance of quasiparticles in superconducting devices with a magnetic field, which can provide important insights for the design of qubits using superconductors