31 research outputs found
Mesoscopic superconductors under irradiation: Microwave spectroscopy of Andreev states
We show that irradiation of a voltage-biased superconducting quantum point
contact at frequencies of the order of the gap energy can remove the
suppression of subgap dc transport through Andreev levels. Quantum interference
among resonant scattering events involving photon absorption is furthermore
shown to make microwave spectroscopy of the Andreev levels feasible. We also
discuss how the same interference effect can be applied for detecting weak
electromagnetic signals up to the gap frequency, and how it is affected by
dephasing and relaxation.Comment: Submitted to a special volume of "Superlattices and Microstructures"
on Mesoscopic Superconductivit
Nonadiabatic Josephson dynamics in junctions with in-gap quasiparticles
Conventional models of Josephson junction dynamics rely on the absence of low-energy quasiparticle states due to a large superconducting gap. With this assumption the quasiparticle degrees of freedom become «frozen out» and the phase difference becomes the only free variable, acting as a fictitious particle in a local in time Josephson potential related to the adiabatic and nondissipative supercurrent across the junction. In this article we develop a general framework to incorporate the effects of low-energy quasiparticles interacting nonadiabatically with the phase degree of freedom. Such quasiparticle states exist generically in constriction type junctions with high transparency channels or resonant states, as well as in junctions of unconventional superconductors. Furthermore, recent experiments have revealed the existence of spurious low-energy in-gap states in tunnel junctions of conventional superconductors — a system for which the adiabatic assumption typically is assumed to hold. We show that the resonant interaction with such low-energy states rather than the Josephson potential defines nonlinear Josephson dynamics at small amplitudes
Nonequilibrium Josephson current in ballistic multiterminal SNS-junctions
We study the nonequilibrium Josephson current in a long two-dimensional
ballistic SNS-junction with a normal reservoir coupled to the normal part of
the junction. The current for a given superconducting phase difference
oscillates as a function of voltage applied between the normal reservoir and
the SNS-junction. The period of the oscillations is , with
the length of the junction, and the amplitude of the oscillations decays as
for and zero temperature. The critical
current shows a similar oscillating, decaying behavior as a function of
voltage, changing sign every oscillation. Normal specular or diffusive
scattering at the NS-interfaces does not qualitatively change the picture.Comment: Proceeding of MS2000, to appear in Physica
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
Interplay between single-particle and two-particle tunneling in normal metal-d-wave superconductor junctions probed by shot noise
We discuss how life-time broadening of quasiparticle states influences
single- and two-particle current transport through zero-energy states at normal
metal/d-wave superconductor junctions. We distinguish between intrinsic
broadening (imaginary part of the energy), which couples the bound
states with the superconducting reservoir, and broadening due to leakage
through the junction barrier, which couples the bound states with the normal
metal reservoir. We show that shot noise is highly sensitive to the mechanism
of broadening, while the conductance is not. In the limit of small but finite
intrinsic broadening, compared to the junction transparency ,
, the low-voltage shot noise at zero frequency and zero
temperature becomes proportional to the magnitude of intrinsic
broadening ( is the maximum d-wave gap).Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; presented at the SDP2001 conference in Toky
Two-level Hamiltonian of a superconducting quantum point contact
In a superconducting quantum point contact, dynamics of the superconducting
phase is coupled to the transitions between the subgap states. We compute this
coupling and derive the two-level Hamiltonian of the contact.Comment: REVTeX, 5 pages, reference adde
Resonant multiple Andreev reflections in mesoscopic superconducting junctions
We investigate the properties of subharmonic gap structure (SGS) in
superconducting quantum contacts with normal-electron resonances. We find two
distinct new features of the SGS in resonant junctions which distinguish them
from non-resonant point contacts: (i) The odd-order structures on the
current-voltage characteristics of resonant junctions are strongly enhanced and
have pronounced peaks, while the even-order structures are suppressed, in the
case of a normal electron resonance being close to the Fermi level. (ii)
Tremendous current peaks develop at where indicates a
distance of the resonance to the Fermi level. These properties are determined
by the effect of narrowing of the resonance during multiple Andreev reflections
and by overlap of electron and hole resonances.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure
Multiple Andreev reflection in single atom niobium junctions
Quantum Matter and Optic
ac Josephson effect in the resonant tunneling through mesoscopic superconducting junctions
We investigate ac Josephson effect in the resonant tunneling through
mesoscopic superconducting junctions. In the presence of microwave irradiation,
we show that the trajectory of multiple Andreev reflections can be closed by
emitting or absorbing photons. Consequently, photon-assisted Andreev states are
formed and play the role of carrying supercurrent. On the Shapiro steps, dc
component appears when the resonant level is near a series of positions with
spacing of half of the microwave frequency. Analytical result is derived in the
limit of infinite superconducting gap, based on which new features of ac
Josephson effect are revealed.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Nonequilibrium Josephson effect in mesoscopic ballistic multiterminal SNS junctions
We present a detailed study of nonequilibrium Josephson currents and
conductance in ballistic multiterminal SNS-devices. Nonequilibrium is created
by means of quasiparticle injection from a normal reservoir connected to the
normal part of the junction. By applying a voltage at the normal reservoir the
Josephson current can be suppressed or the direction of the current can be
reversed. For a junction longer than the thermal length, , the
nonequilibrium current increases linearly with applied voltage, saturating at a
value equal to the equilibrium current of a short junction. The conductance
exhibits a finite bias anomaly around . For symmetric
injection, the conductance oscillates -periodically with the phase
difference between the superconductors, with position of the minimum
( or ) dependent on applied voltage and temperature. For
asymmetric injection, both the nonequilibrium Josephson current and the
conductance becomes -periodic in phase difference. Inclusion of barriers
at the NS-interfaces gives rise to a resonant behavior of the total Josephson
current with respect to junction length with a period . Both
three and four terminal junctions are studied.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.