Subharmonic Shapiro Steps and Assisted Tunneling in Superconducting Point Contacts

J. C. Cuevas, J. Heurich, A. Martín-Rodero, A. Levy Yeyati, and G. Schön
Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 157001 – Published 29 March 2002
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Abstract

We analyze the current in a superconducting point contact of arbitrary transmission in the presence of a microwave radiation. The interplay between the ac Josephson current and the microwave signal gives rise to Shapiro steps at voltages V=(m/n)ħωr/2e, where n,m are integer numbers and ωr is the radiation frequency. The subharmonic steps ( n1) are a consequence of multiple Andreev reflections (MAR) and provide a signature of the peculiar ac Josephson effect at high transmission. Moreover, the dc current exhibits a rich subgap structure due to photon-assisted MARs.

  • Received 8 September 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.157001

©2002 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

J. C. Cuevas1, J. Heurich1, A. Martín-Rodero2, A. Levy Yeyati2, and G. Schön1,3

  • 1Institut für Theoretische Festkörperphysik, Universität Karlsruhe, 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany
  • 2Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada C-V, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
  • 3Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Nanotechnologie, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany

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Vol. 88, Iss. 15 — 15 April 2002

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