Foundations of Josephson Junction Dynamics

J. Kent Harbaugh, D. Stroud

I. N. Askerzade

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.

Joseph Weston

Juha Leppäkangas, E. V. Thuneberg

We analyze how the dynamics in a current-biased mesoscopic Josephson junction can be probed by an additional smaller Josephson junction (probe). The probe is connected to a small island in between the Josephson junction and a resistor R >> R Q = h /4e 2 . The current through the resistor results in an effective current bias to the larger JJ. We model the steady state properties of the system under thermal and quantum fluctuations of the feed current. We use a density matrix approach based on the Born-Markov equations treating the current fluctuations perturbatively. The probe is also treated perturbatively assuming the regime of incoherent Cooper-pair tunneling. We find that the I - V characteristics across the probe shows traces of energy bands, Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling in the current-biased Josephson junction.

Yu. M. Shukrinov, I. R. Rahmonov, Andrej Plecenik +4 more

Two parallel stacks of coupled Josephson junctions are investigated to clarify the physics of transitions between the rotating and oscillating states and their effect on the IV-characteristics of the system. The detailed study of phase dynamics and bias dependence of the superconducting and diffusion currents allows one to explain all features of simulated IV-characteristics and demonstrate the correspondence in their behavior. The coupling between JJ in the stacks leads to the branching of IV-characteristics and a decrease in the hysteretic region. The crucial role of the diffusion current in the formation of the IV-characteristic of the parallel stacks of coupled Josephson junctions is demonstrated. We discuss the effect of symmetry in a number of junctions in the stacks and show a decrease of the branching in the symmetrical stacks. The observed effects might be useful for development of superconducting electronic devices based on intrinsic Josephson junctions.

D. Massarotti, Luigi Longobardi, D. Stornaiuolo +5 more