Effect of normal electrons in superconductors on the current-voltage characteristic of a Josephson junction

It is established that the conductivity of normal electrons in superconductors plays a large role in the current-voltage characteristic of a Josephson junction having a high critical current density, described on the basis of a nonlocal electrodynamics. It is shown in the resistive limit that the normal-electron contribution increases the current through the Josephson junction, while in the capacitive limit it decreases the contribution of Cherenkov resonances. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 582–587 (April 1999)     

Emission of radiation from a long Josephson junction in a thin film

Space-time nonlocal electrodynamic equations are derived for nonlinear vortex states of a Josephson junction in a film of thickness much smaller than the London penetration depth. The spectrum and damping of generalized Swihart waves propagating in such a junction are analyzed. The radiation damping constant associated with the possible emission of electromagnetic radiation is determined in the range of Swihart wave phase velocities exceeding the speed of light. The emission of radiation from nonlinear states having dimensions greater than the distance traversed by light in vacuum during the characteristic time of variation of the phase difference is investigated. It is shown that the flux density of radiation emitted by such states is localized in a plane orthogonal to the axis of the tunnel junction and depends weakly on the angle of observation in this plane. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1426–1449 (April 1999)     

Subharmonic Shapiro steps and noise in high-T c superconductor Josephson junctions

An experimental investigation is made of the subharmonic Shapiro steps observed on the I-V curves of high-T _c superconductor Josephson junctions and on the bias-voltage dependences of the rf noise and detector response when the junctions are subjected to external submillimeter radiation. Structures of this type are ordinarily described by a nonsinusoidal current-phase relation, which is why subharmonic steps appear. Numerical modeling of the processes occurring in a Josephson junction by means of a simple current-phase relation, as in the case of an SNS junction, gives good agreement with experiment. The width of the characteristic Josephson generation line of the junction was estimated on the basis of the noise dependences and the selective detector response. The width can be explained by taking into account the shot noise of the tunneling component of the conductivity. A model of the conductivity of a high-T _c superconductor Josephson junction, consisting of a tunnel junction with microshorts possessing metallic conductivity, is discussed. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 5, 426–430 (10 September 1998)     

Cherenkov radiation from an Abrikosov-Josephson vortex

The Cherenkov radiation of generalized Swihart waves is investigated in connection with the slow motion of an Abrikosov-Josephson vortex, which corresponds to a 2 π kink in the phase difference of Cooper pairs on opposite sides of a tunnel junction. The radiative friction force acting on such a vortex is determined. An evaluation is made of the steady-state vortex velocity when the accelerating influence of an electric current through the Josephson junction is compensated by radiative slowing of the vortex due to Cherenkov radiation from the Abrikosov-Josephson vortex. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 444–448 (March 1997)     

Equivalent parameters of a Josephson junction in a microwave SQUID structure

The equivalent parameters of a Josephson junction in a microwave SQUID structure are calculated on the basis of relations obtained as a result of an analysis of the operation of an rf SQUID. This analysis is based on the sawtooth variation of the voltage on the resonator as a function of the constant flux bias. The quantitative characteristics permit regarding the Josephson junction as a linear impedance in the rf or microwave circuit, whose real and imaginary parts are controlled by the constant magnetic flux passing through the SQUID loop. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 106–112 (November 1999)     

Submillimeter-wave Josephson spectroscopy

A Josephson high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) submillimeter-wave spectrometer is designed, built, and experimentally investigated. The integrated detection structure of the spectrometer includes a YBCO Josephson junction on a bicrystalline boundary, a double-slot or log-periodic antenna, and a low-inductance resistive shunt. The selective detector response and the response at an intermediate frequency of 1.4 GHz are measured under the action of a signal in the frequency range 350–1250 GHz. Three methods of spectroscopy are investigated using this setup: 1) a method of Hilbert spectroscopy with processing of the detector response is implemented; 2) it is found that for a wide Josephson line at intermediate frequency (IF) the response has the same form as the detector response, making it possible to obtain a spectrum and the width of the generation line from IF response measurements; 3) for a narrow Josephson line the IF response corresponds to the regime of conversion with self-pumping. A new method is proposed for calculating the emission spectrum. The method consists of simple shift, summation, and subtraction operations. The advantages of the method are simplicity, high sensitivity, and high resolution. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 5, 338–343 (10 September 1999)     

Observation of a radiation-induced soliton resonance in a Josephson ring

An experimental study of single-soliton dynamics in a ring-shaped Josephson junction is reported. An externally applied magnetic field H forms a harmonic potential for a soliton in the ring. The revolution of the soliton in the junction leads to a potential-induced emission of plasma waves, which give rise to a resonance at a certain soliton velocity. This behavior agrees with numerical simulations, which indicate locking of the soliton to the radiation frequency. Good agreement between the experiment, kinematic model, and numerical simulations is found. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 3, 178–182 (10 August 1996) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Terahertz spectroscopy with a Josephson oscillator and a SINIS bolometer

The voltage response of a thin-film normal-metal hot-electron bolometer based on a SINIS (superconductor-insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor) structure to the radiation of a high-temperature Josephson junction in the terahertz frequency region was measured. Bolometers were integrated with planar log-periodic and double-dipole antennas, and Josephson junctions were integrated with log-periodic antennas. Measurements showed that the Josephson junction at a temperature of 260 mK was overheated by the transport current, so that its electron temperature exceeded 3 K at a bias voltage of 1 mV. The maximum response of a bolometer with a double-dipole antenna was observed at a frequency of 300 GHz, which agreed well with the calculated value. The Josephson radiation was observed at frequencies up to 1.7 THz. The voltage response of a bolometer reached 4×10⁸ V/W, and the total noise-equivalent power reached 1.5×10^?17 W/Hz^1/2.     

On the current-voltage characteristic of a Josephson junction with a high critical current density

A theory is constructed for the current-voltage characteristic of a Josephson junction with a high critical current density described by nonlocal vortex electrodynamics in the approximation of small dissipation due to the single-particle conductivity of the Josephson junction. The role of the resonant excitation of generalized short-wavelength Swihart waves is determined. New quantitative properties of the current-voltage characteristic, which is an envelope of wave excitation resonances, are established. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 2148–2161 (June 1998)     

Critical current of a nonuniform Josephson junction at an intergrain boundary with a random distribution of dislocations

The critical current of a nonuniform intergrain Josephson junction is calculated on the assumption that the superconductivity is suppressed by local stresses produced by randomly distributed boundary dislocations. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 1, 32–37 (10 January 1997)     

Helicity modulus, quantum fluctuations, and superconducting transition in a Josephson junction, array

The effect of quantum fluctuations on a phase transition in a two-dimensional Josephson junction array is studied in terms of the two-dimensional XY model. A self-consistent harmonic approximation is used to calculate the linear response of the system to a perturbation by a uniform phase gradient (helicity modulus γ) as a function of dimensionless temperature Θ and of a quantum parameter q appearing due to the finite capacitance of each junction. Calculation of this quantity has permitted us to find the dependence of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature on q, which within a broad range of q variation is in agreement with the results of a quantum Monte Carlo simulation. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 818–822 (May 1997)     

Effect of Cherenkov dissipation on vortex velocity in a waveguide-coupled Josephson junction

A motion of slow and fast vortices in a waveguide-coupled Josephson junction induced by a transport current flowing through the entire structure is studied; the coupling is not assumed to be weak. For a fast vortex, conditions are established under which current oscillations due to energy dissipation via Cherenkov radiation of Swihart waves become comparable to the current compensating for ohmic losses in the Josephson junction, waveguide, and adjacent superconductors. For a slow vortex, it is proved that intermediate and strong couplings of the Josephson junction to the waveguide shift current oscillations to the velocity range below the Swihart velocity of the Josephson junction.     

Electromagnetic waves in the nonlocal Josephson electrodynamics of a thin film of a magnetic superconductor

An integrodifferential equation describing the dynamics of the phase difference with spatial and temporal nonlocality is derived for a Josephson junction in a thin film of magnetic superconductor. It is shown that the magnetic subsystem renormalizes the spectrum of small-amplitude electromagnetic excitations and leads to their damping. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 2, 132–138 (25 January 1999)     

SrTiO3基片上Tl-2212双晶约瑟夫森结的动态特性及噪声影响研究

在SrTiO₃（STO）基片上制作了Tl-2212双晶约瑟夫森结,并对其进行了微波辐照下的I-V特性测试,观察到了夏皮罗台阶,符合约瑟夫森电压-频率关系.利用数值仿真对约瑟夫森结建立了RCSJ模型,仿真结果与实验数据符合较好,利用此模型深入研究了噪声对结动态特性的影响,解释了噪声影响下结的微波感应台阶幅度减小和极小值展宽现象,提出了有效噪声温度为工作温度和外部噪声的等效温度之和. 关键词： RCSJ模型 噪声 Tl-2212双晶约瑟夫森结     

Generation of electromagnetic radiation in the motion of vortices in magnetically coupled superconducting films

We examine theoretically the generation of electromagnetic radiation in the relative motion of vortex lattices in magnetically coupled films in the dc transformer geometry. We establish the conditions under which the force of mutual pinning of the vortex lattices varies according to a harmonic law as a function of the relative displacement of the vortices in the films within a given range of magnetic field inductions. In this case the equation describing the viscous flow of vortex lattices in magnetically coupled films is the same as the equation of the resistively shunted Josephson junction model. We show that magnetically coupled superconductors exhibit the properties of a Josephson element without any restrictions on the geometrical size of such a system imposed by the coherence length ξ. The frequency f of the electromagnetic radiation generated by the relative motion of vortex lattices in magnetically coupled superconductors depends on the spatial period of the vortex lattices and the velocity of relative vortex motion, which means that the frequency of the radiation can be tuned by applying a magnetic field or a current. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1319–1338 (April 1998)     

Detection of fluxon oscillator radiation by a planar Josephson junction

A planar Josephson junction is used as a detector for the radiation emitted by a long Josephson junction oscillator dc-biased on a zero-field singularity. We observe Josephson current suppression and 300 μV radiation induced singularities in the current-voltage characteristic of the detector junction.     

Dephasing of Andreev pairs entering a charge density wave

A Cooper pair from a s-wave superconductor (S) entering a conventional charge density wave (CDW) below the Peierls gap dephases on the Fermi wavelength while one particle states are localized on the CDW coherence length ξ_CDW. It is thus practically impossible to observe a Josephson current through a CDW. The paths following different sequences of impurities interfere destructively, due to the different electron and hole densities in the CDW. The same conclusion holds for averaging over the conduction channels in the ballistic system. We apply two microscopic approaches to this phenomenon: (i) a Blonder, Tinkham, Klapwijk (BTK) approach for a single highly transparent S-CDW interface; and (ii) the Hamiltonian approach for the Josephson effect in a clean CDW and a CDW with non magnetic disorder. The Josephson effect through a spin density wave (SDW) is limited by the coherence length ξ_SDW, not by the Fermi wave-length. A Josephson current through a SDW might be observed in a structure with contacts on a SDW separated by a distance ξ_SDW.     

Nonlinear Seebeck effect in a model granular superconductor

The change of the Josephson supercurrent density j _s of a weakly connected granular superconductor in response to externally applied arbitrary thermal gradient ∇T (nonlinear Seebeck effect) is considered within a model of 3D Josephson junction arrays. For ∇T>(∇T)_c, where (∇T)_c is estimated to be of the order of ≃10⁴ K/m for YBCO ceramics with an average grain size d≃10 μ m, the weak-links-dominated thermopower S is predicted to become strongly ∇T-dependent. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 9, 650–654 (10 May 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Stochastic dynamics of a Josephson fluxon in an inhomogeneous junction

A study is made of fluxon motion in a long Josephson junction with a local inhomogeneity (microresistor) in the presence of an alternating external current. Nonlinear resonances in the fluxon dynamics are considered. The process by which a fluxon trapped at an inhomogeneity is stochastically depinned under the influence of a periodic current is investigated analytically and numerically. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 57–61 (August 1997)     

嵌入到Fabry-Perot谐振腔的双晶约瑟夫森结阵列的阻抗匹配和相位锁定研究

在He等人所做的嵌入到Fabry-Perot谐振腔中约瑟夫森结阵列的微波辐照研究基础上,提出了同时实现约瑟夫森结阵列阻抗匹配和相位锁定的方法,进行了相关的电磁仿真和数值计算.双晶约瑟夫森结阵列被制作在YSZ双晶基片上,同时被嵌入到Fabry-Perot谐振腔内.通过在基片上制作与结阵列集成的串联馈电半波偶极天线阵,并对其结构进行优化实现了结与天线的匹配,数值计算表明结的辐射效率达到94%;利用天线阵辐射场的特征和对模型合理的设计,使Fabry-Perot谐振腔和基片同时谐振在合适的模式下,从而使结阵列与谐 关键词： 约瑟夫森结阵列 阻抗匹配 相位锁定 Fabry-Perot谐振腔