No Arabic abstract
We have observed, for the first time, a temperature dependent 0-pi junction crossover in a 45 symmetric [001] tilt grain boundary junction. Experimental data, obtained by a double phase-sensitive test based on a low inductance dc SQUID, show an anomalous nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the Josephson current, clear evidence of a critical current sign change at a temperature T*. At the same temperature, the SQUID undergoes a transition from a 0-SQUID to a pi-SQUID. Results are in good agreement with theoretical models taking into account mid-gap states in low transparency junctions.
The magneto-conductance in YBCO grain boundary Josephson junctions, displays fluctuations at low temperatures of mesoscopic origin. The morphology of the junction suggests that transport occurs in narrow channels across the grain boundary line, with a large Thouless energy. Nevertheless the measured fluctuation amplitude decreases quite slowly when increasing the voltage up to values about twenty times the Thouless energy, of the order of the nominal superconducting gap. Our findings show the coexistence of supercurrent and quasiparticle current in the junction conduction even at high nonequilibrium conditions. Model calculations confirm the reduced role of quasiparticle relaxation at temperatures up to 3 Kelvin.
We theoretically study the Josephson effect in a superconductor/normal metal/superconductor ({it S}/{it N}/{it S}) Josephson junction composed of $s$-wave {it S}s with {it N} which is sandwiched by two ferromagnetic insulators ({it F}s), forming a spin valve, in the vertical direction of the junction. We show that the 0-$pi$ transition of the Josephson critical current occurs with increasing the thickness of {it N} along the junction. This transition is due to the magnetic proximity effect (MPE) which induces ferromagnetic magnetization in the {it N}. Moreover, we find that, even for fixed thickness of {it N}, the proposed Josephson junction with the spin valve can be switched from $pi$ to 0 states and vice versa by varying the magnetization configuration (parallel or antiparallel) of two {it F}s. We also examine the effect of spin-orbit scattering on the Josephson critical current and argue that the 0-$pi$ transition found here can be experimentally observed within the current nanofabrication techniques, thus indicating a promising potential of this junction as a 0-$pi$ switching device operated reversibly with varying the magnetic configuration in the spin valve by, e.g., applying an external magnetic field. %with the magnetization configuration in the spin valve. Our results not only provide possible applications in superconducting electronics but also suggest the importance of a fundamental concept of MPE in nanostructures of multilayer {it N}/{it F} systems.
We have performed a detailed study of the tunneling spectra of bicrystal grain boundary junctions (GBJs) fabricated from the HTS YBCO, BSCCO, LSCO, and NCCO. In all experiments the tunneling direction was along the CuO planes. With the exception of NCCO, for all materials a pronounced zero bias conductance peak was observed which decreases with increasing temperature and disappears at the critical temperature. These results can be explained by the presence of a dominating d-wave symmetry of the order parameter resulting in the formation of zero energy Andreev bound states at surfaces and interfaces of HTS. The absence of a ZBCP for NCCO is consistent with a dominating s-wave symmetry of the pair potential in this material. The observed nonlinear shift of spectral weight to finite energies by applying a magnetic field is in qualitative agreement with recent theoretical predictions.
In this work we study the remanent magnetization exhibited by tridimensional disordered high-Tc Josephson junction arrays excited by an AC magnetic field. The effect, as predicted by numerical simulations and previously verified for a low-Tc array of Nb, occurs in a limited range of temperatures. We also show that the magnetized state can be excited and detected by two alternative experimental routines.
We investigate in-plane quasiparticle tunneling across thin film grain boundary junctions (GBJs) of the electron-doped cuprate La$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_4$ in magnetic fields up to $B=16 $T, perpendicular to the CuO$_2$ layers. The differential conductance in the superconducting state shows a zero bias conductance peak (ZBCP) due to zero energy surface Andreev bound states. With increasing temperature $T$, the ZBCP vanishes at the critical temperature $T_capprox29 $K if B=0, and at $T=12 $K for B=16 T. As the ZBCP is related to the macroscopic phase coherence of the superconducting state, we argue that the disappearance of the ZBCP at a field $B_{ZBCP}(T)$ must occur below the upper critical field $B_{c2}(T)$ of the superconductor. We find $B_{ZBCP}(0) approx 25 $T which is at least a factor of 2.5 higher than previous estimates of $B_{c2}(0)$.