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arXiv:2105.13340 · Scientific Reports

Subgap dynamics of double quantum dot coupled between superconducting and normal leads

B. Baran, R. Taranko, T. Domański

Published May 27, 2021• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Dynamical processes induced by the external time-dependent fields can provide valuable insight into the characteristic energy scales of a given physical system. We investigate them here in a nanoscopic heterostructure, consisting of the double quantum dot coupled in series to the superconducting and the metallic reservoirs, analyzing its response to (i) abrupt bias voltage applied across the junction, (ii) sudden change of the energy levels, and imposed by (iii) their periodic driving. We explore subgap properties of this setup which are strictly related to the in-gap quasiparticles and discuss their signatures manifested in the time-dependent charge currents. The characteristic multi-mode oscillations, their beating patters and photon-assisted harmonics reveal a rich spectrum of dynamical features that might be important for designing the superconducting qubits.

DOI
10.1038/s41598-021-90080-2

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Dynamical processes induced by the external time-dependent fields can provide valuable insight into the characteristic energy scales of a given physical system. We investigate them here in a nanoscopic heterostructure, consisting of the double quantum dot coupled in series to the superconducting and the metallic reservoirs, analyzing its response to (i) abrupt bias voltage applied across the junction, (ii) sudden change of the energy levels, and imposed by (iii) their periodic driving. We explore subgap properties of this setup which are strictly related to the in-gap quasiparticles and discuss their signatures manifested in the time-dependent charge currents. The characteristic multi-mode oscillations, their beating patters and photon-assisted harmonics reveal a rich spectrum of dynamical features that might be important for designing the superconducting qubits.
Abstract Dynamical processes induced by the external time-dependent fields can provide valuable insight into the characteristic energy scales of a given physical system. We investigate them here in a nanoscopic heterostructure, consisting of the double quantum dot coupled in series to the superconducting and the metallic reservoirs, analyzing its response to (i) abrupt bias voltage applied across the junction, (ii) sudden change of the energy levels, and imposed by (iii) their periodic driving. We explore subgap properties of this setup which are strictly related to the in-gap quasiparticles and discuss their signatures manifested in the time-dependent charge currents. The characteristic multi-mode oscillations, their beating patters and photon-assisted harmonics reveal a rich spectrum of dynamical features that might be important for designing the superconducting qubits.
We study the time-dependent triplet configuration, appearing under nonequilibrium conditions in a nanoscopic junction with two quantum dots coupled in series between superconductor and normal metallic lead. We show that in the situation, when both quantum dots are singly occupied by identical spin electrons, the on-dot electron pairing is suppressed what substantially affects the subgap charge transport. We investigate processes in which such configuration can be temporarily encountered, either due to the initial conditions or by imposing the external magnetic field. Our analytical and numerical calculations provide estimations for the temporal scales, characterizing evolution of the triplet configuration which could be manifested in the time-resolved tunneling measurements. Such nonequilibrium features of the triplet configuration might be relevant to operations on superconducting qubits, in their conventional and/or topological realizations.
The combined action of a DC bias and a microwave drive on the transport characteristic of a superconductor-quantum dot-superconductor junction is investigated. To cope with time dependent non-equilibrium effects and interactions in the quantum dot, we develop a general formalism for the dynamics of the density operator based on a particle conserving approach to superconductivity. Without invoking a broken U (1) symmetry, we identify a dynamical phase connected to the coherent transfer of Cooper pairs across the junction. In the weak coupling limit, we show that besides quasiparticle transport, proximity induced superconducting correlations manifest in anomalous pair tunneling involving the transfer of a Cooper pair. The resulting generalized master equation in presence of the microwave drive showcases the characteristic bichromatic response due to the combination of the AC Josephson effect and an AC voltage. Analytical expressions for all harmonics in the driving frequency of both the current and the reduced dot operator are given for arbitrary driving strength. For the net DC current the resulting photon assisted processes give rise to rich current-voltage characteristics. In addition to photon assisted subgap transport we find regions of total current inversion in the stability diagram. There, the junction acts as a pump with the net DC current flowing against the applied DC bias. The first harmonic of the current, being closely related to the nonlinear dynamic susceptibility of the junction, is discussed at finite applied DC bias.
The combined action of a dc bias and a microwave drive on the transport characteristic of a superconductor-quantum dot-superconductor junction is investigated. To cope with time dependent nonequilibrium effects and interactions in the quantum dot, we develop a general formalism for the dynamics of the density operator based on a particle conserving approach to superconductivity. Without invoking a broken U(1) symmetry, we identify a dynamical phase connected to the coherent transfer of Cooper pairs across the junction. In the weak-coupling limit, we show that besides quasiparticle transport, proximity induced superconducting correlations manifest in anomalous pair tunneling involving the transfer of a Cooper pair. The resulting generalized master equation in presence of the microwave drive showcases the characteristic bichromatic response due to the combination of the ac Josephson effect and an ac voltage. Analytical expressions for all harmonics in the driving frequency of both the current and the reduced dot operator are given for arbitrary driving strength. For the net dc current, the resulting photon assisted processes give rise to rich current-voltage characteristics. In addition to photon assisted subgap transport, we find regions of total current inversion in the stability diagram. There, the junction acts as a pump with the net dc current flowing against the applied dc bias. The first harmonic of the current, being closely related to the nonlinear dynamic susceptibility of the junction, is discussed at finite applied dc bias.
The work presented in this thesis investigates transitions between quantum states in superconducting double dots (SDDs), a nanoscale device consisting of two aluminium superconducting islands coupled together by a Josephson junction, with each dot connected to a normal state lead. The energy landscape consists of a two level manifold of even charge parity Cooper pair states, and continuous bands corresponding to charge states with single quasiparticles in one or both islands. These devices are fabricated using shadow mask evaporation, and are measured at sub Kelvin temperatures using a dilution refrigerator. We use radio frequency reflectometry to measure quantum capacitance, which is dependent on the quantum state of the device. We measure the quantum capacitance as a function of gate voltage, and observe capacitance maxima corresponding to the Josephson coupling between even parity states. We also perform charge sensing and detect odd parity states. These measurements support the theoretical model of the energy landscape of the SDD. By measuring the quantum capacitance in the time domain, we observe random switching of capacitance between two levels. We determine this to be the stochastic breaking and recombination of single Cooper pairs. By carrying out spectroscopy of the bath responsible for the pair breaking we attribute it to black-body radiation in the cryogenic environment. We also drive the breaking process with a continuous microwave signal, and find that the rate is linearly proportional to incident power. This suggests that a single photon process is responsible, and demonstrates the potential of the SDD as a single photon microwave detector. We investigate this mechanism further, and design an experiment in which the breaking rate is enhanced when the SDD is in the antisymmetric state rather than the symmetric state. We also measure the quantum capacitance of a charge isolated double dot. We observe 2e periodicity, indicating the tunnelling of Cooper pairs and the lack of occupation of quasiparticle states. This work is relevant to the range of experiments investigating the effect of non-equilibrium quasiparticles on the operation of superconducting qubits and other superconducting devices.
We consider a three-terminal system consisting of a quantum dot strongly coupled to two superconducting reservoirs in the infinite-gap limit and weakly coupled to a normal metal. Using a real-time diagrammatic approach, we calculate the dynamics of the proximity-induced pair amplitude on the quantum dot. We find that after a quench the pair amplitude shows pronounced oscillations with a frequency determined by the coupling to the superconductors. In addition, it decays exponentially on a timescale set by the coupling to the normal metal. Strong oscillations of the pair amplitude occur also when the system is periodically driven both in the adiabatic and fast-driving limit. We relate the dynamics of the pair amplitude to the Josephson and Andreev current through the dot to demonstrate that it is an experimentally accessible quantity.