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Physical Review B

Controlling Josephson dynamics by strong microwave fields

Boris Chesca, Sergey E. Savel'ev, Aleksandr L Rakhmanov, H.J.H. Smilde, Hans Hilgenkamp

Published Sep 9, 2008• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We observe several sharp changes in the slope of the current-voltage characteristics (CVCs) of thin-film ramp-edge Josephson junctions between ${\text{YBa}}_{2}{\text{Cu}}_{3}{\text{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ and Nb when applying strong microwave fields. Such behavior indicates an intriguing Josephson dynamics associated with the switching from a parametric excitation regime induced by the magnetic field of the microwave via oscillations of the Josephson critical current to an ac-current-excitation regime triggered by the electric field of the microwave. We propose a model, which describes the observed features on the CVC in terms of microwave-induced multiple switching between running and locked solutions of sine-Gordon equation.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.78.094505

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We observe several sharp changes in the slope of the current-voltage characteristics (CVCs) of thin-film ramp-edge Josephson junctions between YBa2Cu3O7\ensuremath−\ensuremathδ{\text{YBa}}_{2}{\text{Cu}}_{3}{\text{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}YBa2​Cu3​O7\ensuremath−\ensuremathδ​ and Nb when applying strong microwave fields. Such behavior indicates an intriguing Josephson dynamics associated with the switching from a parametric excitation regime induced by the magnetic field of the microwave via oscillations of the Josephson critical current to an ac-current-excitation regime triggered by the electric field of the microwave. We propose a model, which describes the observed features on the CVC in terms of microwave-induced multiple switching between running and locked solutions of sine-Gordon equation.
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We fabricated Josephson vortex flow transistors (JVFTs) with a parallel array of Josephson junctions that were prepared using c-axis-oriented 100-nm-thick YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (YBCO) thin films grown on 24° bicrystal MgO (100) substrates. We observed clear modulations of the critical current and the flow voltage with DC current input to the control line that was inductively coupled to the array of junctions. From the results, we estimated the parameters of the device, e.g., the mutual inductance and the self-inductance, and calculated the operation frequency at which the device potentially exhibited these parameters. Moreover, the current gain and the transresistance were evaluated and found to be 0.5 and 0.15 Ω, respectively. In addition, we observed the high-frequency responses of the JVFT to the input AC current of the sine wave or the square pulse wave. A clear oscillation of the output voltage could be observed with a 1 MHz sine wave and 250 kHz square pulse wave. We also discussed the feasibility of higher frequency operation by using it as an input interface for a single flux quantum (SFQ) logic circuit.