In this paper, the influence of unharmonic current-phase relation (CPR) in an externally shunted Josephson circuit model with nonzero inductance and resistance has been studied. The inclusion of second harmonic also leads to an increase in the hysteresis ofI-Vcharacteristics. The simulation results highlight the influence of unharmonic CPR in the realization of the Josephson junction circuits.
Numerical Study of I–V Characteristics of Externally Shunted Josephson Junctions With Unharmonic Current-Phase Relation
In this paper, the influence of unharmonic current-phase relation (CPR) in an externally shunted Josephson circuit model with nonzero inductance and resistance has been studied. The inclusion of second harmonic also leads to an increase in the hysteresis ofI-Vcharacteristics. The simulation results highlight the influence of unharmonic CPR in the realization of the Josephson junction circuits.
This paper numerically analyzes the influence of second harmonics on the characteristics of Josephson junction quantum bits (qubits). It is shown that the splitting of energy states of phase qubits is sensitive to energy scale and unharmonicity parameters. On the other hand, for charge qubits, the expectation value of the Cooper-pair number is not affected by the inclusion of unharmonicity parameters, whereas the expectation value of the superconducting current is strongly influenced by energy scale and unharmonicity parameters. The numerical results seem to present the importance of second harmonics in the realization of superconducting qubits.
Josephson junction, as the core nonlinear element underpinning superconducting electronics, is characterized by its current-phase relation (CPR), which fundamentally determines the dynamical properties and functional capabilities of superconducting quantum devices. Traditional Josephson junctions typically exhibit a traditional sinusoidal CPR; however, the junctions characterized by non-sinusoidal CPR have recently attracted considerable attention due to their distinctive physical properties and promising quantum device applications. In this work, a numerical model tailored specifically for junctions exhibiting non-sinusoidal CPR is developed by integrating experimentally measured current-voltage (I-V ) characteristics from Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb junctions into a resistively and capacitively shunted junction (RCSJ) framework. By leveraging this refined model, the influence of CPR skewness on Josephson junction dynamics is systematically investigated. Our results indicate that in underdamped junctions, the critical current significantly diminishes with the increase of CPR skewness, a behavior reminiscent of the adjustable critical currents typically observed in DC superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). Conversely, in overdamped junctions, the influence of CPR skewness on the I-V characteristics is found to be negligible. However, our numerical simulations under microwave irradiation indicate that nonsinusoidal CPRs readily promote the emergence of half-integer Shapiro steps in overdamped junctions, thereby establishing CPR skewness as a plausible microscopic origin for this phenomenon. In addition, the advanced design system (ADS) simulations is employed to model nonlinear resonators and DC SQUID circuits, offering a detailed investigation into how nonsinusoidal CPRs modulate the Josephson inductance and magnetic flux response. Our findings reveal that engineering the CPR of Josephson junctions provides substantial flexibility in the design of superconducting qubits, parametric amplifiers, and non-magnetic nonreciprocal devices. This tunability underscores significant opportunities for developing next-generation superconducting electronic components. The Josephson junctions with engineered CPR offer expanded functionality for superconducting quantum technologies. This study suggests that customized CPR can enhance control over the dynamical behavior of junctions, and promote the optimized designs of superconducting qubits, parametric amplifiers, and nonmagnetic nonreciprocal devices.
The aim of this review is the analysis of dynamical properties of Josephson junctions (JJ) with anharmonic current-phase relation (CPR). Firstly, discussion of theoretical foundation of anharmonic CPR in different Josephson structures and their experimental observation are presented. The influence of anisotropy and multiband effects on CPR of JJ are analyzed. We present recent theoretical study results of the anharmonic CPR influence on I–V curve, plasma frequency, and dynamics of long JJ. Results of study of Shapiro steps in I–V curve of anharmonic JJ are also presented. Finally, CPR anharmonicity effect on characteristics of JJ-based qubits is discussed.
The 2ϕ-Josephson junctions (JJs), characterized by a dominant second harmonic in the current-phase relationship (CPR), are promising devices for low-power, high-density superconducting digital logic. These junctions eliminate the need for on-chip inductors to store magnetic flux and they reduce bias current requirements. In practical implementations, both first and second harmonic components are typically present in the CPR, affecting the junction dynamics and circuit operation. Understanding this behavior is essential for the reliable design of superconducting logic circuits utilizing these junctions, such as half flux quantum (HFQ) circuits. In this article, a compact Verilog-A model for 2ϕ-JJs is presented that captures the nonlinear behavior of the junctions, accounting for both harmonic contributions and their impact on damping. Two parameter sets are derived from experimental data corresponding to junctions with weak ferromagnetic barriers and ferromagnetic insulator barriers. Based on the inferred parameters, models of each junction type are developed. The model is validated against published experimental results and simulated within a D flip flop cell, demonstrating its use for superconducting circuit design and analysis, including evaluation of circuit behavior under nonideal junction conditions. Stability issues and failure mechanisms introduced by a nonzero first harmonic are analyzed, and underlying junction dynamics are examined to explain the reduction in circuit parameter margins.
The electrophysical and dynamic parameters (Shapiro steps and detector response) of hybrid heterostructures based on oxide superconductors with the d -wave symmetry of the order parameter are studied. Deviation of the current-phase relation from the trivial (sinusoidal) form is revealed. It is shown in terms of a generalized Resistive Shunted Function model with the junction capacitance and higher harmonics of the current-phase relation has virtually no influence on the width of harmonic Shapiro steps but changes the scale of the step-width dependence on the ac current of an external electromagnetic field. In addition, it is shown that these dependences have no local minima if the current-phase relation (CPR) contains harmonics higher than the first. For heterostructures, the amplitudes and signs of the CPR harmonics are determined through comparison of theoretical and experimental data.
Some types of Josephson junctions such as long microbridges, S-N-S junctions, and junctions with a series palastic inductance are known to have nonsinusoidal current-phase relations which can be approximated by linear-periodic functions. In this paper the equivalent circuit equation of the resistively shunted junction model with linear-periodic current-phase relation is solved. The heights of zeroth and first constant-voltage steps in the I-V characteristics and the impedance at these steps are obtained analytically. This analysis shows that the impedance at the first step lies on a semicircle in the impedance plane with its center at the impedance of the zeroth step. The calculated impedance is compared with the experimental results by Claridge et al. The theory presented here can explain some features of experimental results which differ considerably from predictions based on a sinusoidal current-phase relation. Among these are the value of bias current corresponding to the center of the first step, and the appearance of ’’shoulders’’ in the imaginary part of the impedance at the first step.