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arXiv:2604.12313 · Nano Letters

Nanoscale Electrothermal-Switch Superconducting Diode for Electrically Programmable Superconducting Circuits

T L Li, Jiong Li, Chong Li, Peiyuan Huang, Nuo-Zhou Yang, Wuyue Xu, Wen-Cheng Yue, Yang-Yang Lyu, Yihuang Xiong, Xuecou Tu, Tao Tao, Xiaoqing 小氢 Jia 贾, Qing-Hu Chen, Huabing 华兵 Wang 王, Peiheng Wu, Yong-Lei Wang

Published Apr 14, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Superconducting diodes enable dissipationless directional transport, yet achieving electrical tunability and scalability remains a major challenge for circuit-level integration. Here, we demonstrate an electrothermal-switch superconducting diode in which a gate-controlled nanoscale hotspot dynamically breaks inversion symmetry in a superconducting nanowire. This mechanism gives rise to two coexisting non-reciprocal transport regimes, one associated with a non-reciprocal superconducting-to-normal transition and the other with ratchet-like vortex dynamics, both originating from the same electrothermal-switch process. The diode exhibits efficiencies up to 42 and 60% for the two regimes, respectively, and can be electrically switched on, off, or reversed in polarity in situ by applying a small gate current. These capabilities enable programmable superconducting circuits that realize electrically reconfigurable full-wave and half-wave rectification. The lithography-compatible design, high performance, and gate-controlled functionality establish a scalable platform for programmable superconducting electronics and hybrid quantum systems.

DOI
10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c00080

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A Josephson diode is a superconducting circuit element that enables non-reciprocal transport, allowing a dissipationless supercurrent to preferentially flow in a single direction. Existing methods for achieving the required symmetry breaking mostly rely on specifically-designed materials or carefully-engineered circuits composed of multiple Josephson junctions. Here, we demonstrate that applying a biharmonic drive to a conventional superconducting tunnel-junction induces a diode effect through harmonic mixing processes that shift the supercurrent region. We show that, in a conventional tunnel junction, unity efficiency is achievable while maintaining a large supercurrent. Moreover, the relative phase between the two driving tones determines the directionality of the diode, which can be tuned in situ.
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