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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Tunneling spectroscopy of persistent currents in superconducting microrings
Denis Yu. VodolazovT. T. HongistoK. Yu. Arutyunovsubject
SuperconductivityMaterials scienceCondensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale PhysicsCondensed matter physicsOscillationCondensed Matter - SuperconductivityFOS: Physical sciencesBiasingCondensed Matter PhysicsAtomic and Molecular Physics and OpticsMagnetic fluxElectronic Optical and Magnetic MaterialsMagnetic fieldSuperconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)Tunnel effectCondensed Matter::SuperconductivityMesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)Density of statesQuantum tunnellingdescription
It is shown that in a structure consisting of a superconducting ring-shaped electrode overlapped by a normal metal contact through a thin oxide barrier, measurements of the tunnel current in magnetic field can probe persistent currents in the ring. The effect manifests itself as periodic oscillations of the tunnel current through the junction at a fixed bias voltage as function of perpendicular magnetic field. The magnitude of oscillations depends on bias point. It reaches maximum at energy eV which is close to the superconducting gap and decreases with increase of temperature. The period of oscillations dF in units of magnetic flux is equal neither to h/e nor to h/2e, but significantly exceeds these values for larger loop circumferences. The phenomenon is explained by formation of metastable states with large vorticity. The pairing potential and the superconducting density of states are periodically modulated by the persistent currents at sub-critical values resulting in corresponding variations of the measured tunnel current.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-06-19 | Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures |