Quantum phase-slip junction under microwave irradiation
Year: 2015
Authors: Di Marco A., Hekking F. W.J., Rastelli G.
Autors Affiliation: Univ Grenoble Alpes, LPMMC, F-38000 Grenoble, France; LPMMC, CNRS, F-38042 Grenoble, France; Univ Konstanz, Fac Phys, Zukunftskolleg, D-78457 Constance, Germany
Abstract: We consider the dynamics of a quantum phase-slip junction (QPSJ), a dual Josephson junction, connected to a microwave source with frequency omega(mw). With respect to an ordinary Josephson junction, a QPSJ can sustain dual Shapiro steps, consisting of well-defined current plateaus at multiple integers of e omega(mw)/pi in the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic. The experimental observation of these plateaus has been elusive up to now. We argue that thermal as well as quantum fluctuations can smear the I-V characteristic considerably. In order to understand these effects, we study a current-biased QPSJ under microwave irradiation and connected to an inductive and resistive environment. We find that the effect of the fluctuations is governed by the resistance of the environment and by the ratio of the phase-slip energy and the inductive energy. Our results are of interest for experiments aiming at the observation of dual Shapiro steps in QPSJ devices for the definition of a new quantum current standard.
Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW. B, CONDENSED MATTER AND MATERIALS PHYSICS
Volume: 91 (18) Pages from: 184512 to:
More Information: The authors thank W. Belzig, L. Glazman, W. Guichard, Yu. Nazarov, I. Safi, A. Zorin, and especially C. Schenke for useful discussions. Financial support from the Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) Q-NET (Project No. 264034), the European Research council (Grant No. 306731), Institut universitaire de France, and the EU FP7 Marie Curie Zukunftskolleg Incoming Fellowship Programme, University of Konstanz (Grant No. 291784), is gratefully acknowledged.KeyWords: quantum phase slips, josephson junction chainsDOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.91.184512