ISSN:
1572-9605
Keywords:
escape rate
;
Josephson effect
;
phase diffusion
;
supercurrent
;
switching current
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract In nanoscale Josephson junctions, the Josephson coupling energy is usually comparable with the charging energy of the junction and with the typical energy of thermal fluctuations. Under these circumstances, phase fluctuations imposed by the electromagnetic environment of the junction crucially affect the junction electrical behavior. In particular, they determine the maximum “supercurrent” the junction can sustain. We discuss this quantity in the case where the junction is not resistively shunted, so that the I V characteristics of the junction remains hysteretic. For a simple, yet realistic, unshunted junction model, we obtain detailed predictions of the shape of the supercurrent branch of the I V characteristic. Finally, we present experimental results supporting the theoretical analysis and which demonstrate that the supercurrent in an unshunted nanoscale Josephson junction can indeed be of the order of its critical current.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1007733009637
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