Recent Achievements on the Physics of High-T cSuperconductor Josephson Junctions: Background, Perspectives and Inspiration
Journal article, 2013
Coherent passage of Cooper pairs in a Josephson junction (JJ) above the liquid nitrogen temperature has been the first impressive revolutionary effect induced by high critical temperature superconductors (HTS) in the domain of the study of Josephson effect (JE). But this has been only the start. A d-wave order parameter has lead to significant novel insights in the physics of the JE turning into a device the notion of a pi-junction. Spontaneous currents in a frustrated geometry, Andreev bound states, long-range proximity effect have rapidly become standard terms in the study of the JE, standing as a reference bench for conventional systems based on low critical temperature superconductors (LTS) and inspiring analogies for junctions based on novel superconductors discovered in the meantime. The extreme richness of the physics of HTS JJs has not been adequately supported by the expected impact in the applications, the main reason lying in the complexity of these materials and in the consequent unsatisfactory yield and reproducibility of the performances of the JJs within the required limits. The continuous progress in material science, and specifically in the realization of oxide multi-layers, and in nanotechnologies applied to superconductors, accompanied by the advances in a better understanding of the properties of HTS and of HTS devices, has as a matter of fact opened possible novel scenarios and interest in the field. We intend to give a brief overview on interesting new problems concerning HTS JJs of inspiration also for other systems. We also review some ideas and experimental techniques on macroscopic quantum decay phenomena occurring in Josephson structures. The attention is mainly addressed to intermediate levels of dissipation, which characterize a large majority of low critical current Josephson devices and are therefore an unavoidable consequence of nanotechnology applied more and more to Josephson devices.
High T-C superconductors
time-reversal symmetry
disordered electronic systems
high-temperature superconductors
yba2cu3o7-delta thin-films
magnetic-flux
Josephson effect
phenomena
grain-boundary junctions
universal conductance
degenerate ground-state
Macroscopic quantum
fluctuations
tunnel-junctions
zero-voltage state
Nanostructures
Author
F. Tafuri
Superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices
Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
D. Massarotti
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices
L. Galletti
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices
D. Stornaiuolo
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices
D. Montemurro
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
L. Longobardi
Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
P. Lucignano
Istituto Dei Sistemi Complessi, Rome
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
G. Rotoli
Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
G. P. Pepe
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices
A. Tagliacozzo
Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices
Floriana Lombardi
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism
1557-1939 (ISSN) 1557-1947 (eISSN)
Vol. 26 1 21-41Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Physical Sciences
DOI
10.1007/s10948-012-1773-0