We study the influence of multiple bands on the properties of Josephson junctions. In particular we focus on the two gap superconductor magnesium diboride. We present a formalism to describe tunneling at a point contact between two MgB2 electrodes generalizing the transfer-matrix approach to multiple bands. A simple model is presented to determine the effective hopping amplitudes between the different energy bands as a function of the misorientation angle of the electrodes. We calculate the critical current and the current-voltage characteristics for N-I-S and S-I-S contacts with different orientation for junctions with both high and low transparency. We find that interband tunneling processes become increasingly important with increasing misorientation angle. This is reflected in certain features in the differential tunneling conductance in both the tunneling limit as well as for multiple Andreev reflections.
True to their unconventional nature, multi-band alkaline Fe-selenides and, more recently, the heavy-fermion CeCu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ have shown signatures of fully-gapped but sign-changing superconductivity (SC). A two-orbital pairing state, called $stau_{3}$, with non-trivial matrix structure, was proposed as a candidate able to reconcile the seemingly contradictory properties of these SCs. Motivated by the non-trivial orbital structure of the proposed $stau_{3}$ state, which has orbital-selective pairing structure, we study prototypical Josephson junctions where at least one of the leads is in a SC state of this kind. An analysis of these junctions in the limit of two degenerate orbitals (bands) and with a simple form of junction hybridization reveals several remarkable properties. One is the emergence of gapless, purely electron- and hole-like bound states for $stau_{3}-N-stau_{3}$ junctions with arbitrary global phase difference between the leads, and likewise for $stau_{3}-N-I$ junctions. The other is the absence of static Josephson currents when both leads are SCs. In both of these signatures, $stau_{3}$ junctions are dramatically different from conventional Josephson junctions. We also find that the gapless bound states are protected by an orbital-exchange symmetry, although the protection is not topological. Junctions which break this symmetry, such as $stau_{3}-N-s$, have gapped Andreev bound states. In general, the Josephson effect also re-emerges once the degeneracy of the two orbitals is lifted. We support these conclusions via analytical and numerical results for the bound states, together with microscopic calculations of the Josephson current. Our results indicate that junctions involving $stau_{3}$ pairing in alkaline Fe-selenidess will generically have bound states with a small gap together with a greatly suppressed Josephson current.
Josephson junctions based on three-dimensional topological insulators offer intriguing possibilities to realize unconventional $p$-wave pairing and Majorana modes. Here, we provide a detailed study of the effect of a uniform magnetization in the normal region: We show how the interplay between the spin-momentum locking of the topological insulator and an in-plane magnetization parallel to the direction of phase bias leads to an asymmetry of the Andreev spectrum with respect to transverse momenta. If sufficiently large, this asymmetry induces a transition from a regime of gapless, counterpropagating Majorana modes to a regime with unprotected modes that are unidirectional at small transverse momenta. Intriguingly, the magnetization-induced asymmetry of the Andreev spectrum also gives rise to a Josephson Hall effect, that is, the appearance of a transverse Josephson current. The amplitude and current phase relation of the Josephson Hall current are studied in detail. In particular, we show how magnetic control and gating of the normal region can enable sizable Josephson Hall currents compared to the longitudinal Josephson current. Finally, we also propose in-plane magnetic fields as an alternative to the magnetization in the normal region and discuss how the planar Josephson Hall effect could be observed in experiments.
We present a study on low-$T_c$ superconductor-insulator-ferromagnet-superconductor (SIFS) Josephson junctions. SIFS junctions have gained considerable interest in recent years because they show a number of interesting properties for future classical and quantum computing devices. We optimized the fabrication process of these junctions to achieve a homogeneous current transport, ending up with high-quality samples. Depending on the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer and on temperature, the SIFS junctions are in the ground state with a phase drop either 0 or $pi$. By using a ferromagnetic layer with variable step-like thickness along the junction, we obtained a so-called 0-$pi$ Josephson junction, in which 0 and $pi$ ground states compete with each other. At a certain temperature the 0 and $pi$ parts of the junction are perfectly symmetric, i.e. the absolute critical current densities are equal. In this case the degenerate ground state corresponds to a vortex of supercurrent circulating clock- or counterclockwise and creating a magnetic flux which carries a fraction of the magnetic flux quantum $Phi_0$.
We investigate superconductor/insulator/ferromagnet/superconductor (SIFS) tunnel Josephson junctions in the dirty limit, using the quasiclassical theory. We consider the case of a strong tunnel barrier such that the left S layer and the right FS bilayer are decoupled. We calculate quantitatively the density of states (DOS) in the FS bilayer for arbitrary length of the ferromagnetic layer, using a self-consistent numerical method. We compare these results with a known analytical DOS approximation, which is valid when the ferromagnetic layer is long enough. Finally we calculate quantitatively the current-voltage characteristics of a SIFS junction.
Magnetotransport measurements were done on $Nb/Al_2O_3/Cu/Ni/Nb$ superconductor-insulator-ferromagnet-superconductor Josephson tunnel junctions. Depending on ferromagnetic $Ni$ interlayer thickness and geometry the standard (1d) magnetic field dependence of critical current deviates from the text-book model for Josephson junctions. The results are qualitatively explained by a short Josephson junction model based on anisotropy and 2d remanent magnetization.