EFFECT OF MICROWAVE RADIATION ON THE VOLTAGE-CURRENT CHARACTERISTICS OF A VARIABLE-THICKNESS JOSEPHSON MICROBRIDGE.

The temperature and field variation of the photoresponse of tin Josephson film microbridges are investigated in experiments in which the microbridges are irradiated in the centimeter and millimeter ranges. Experiments have been carried out under conditions that correspond to narrow-band and wide-band detection. Certain features of the response which are due to stimulation of superconductivity in the microbridges by the microwave radiation and a direct current are studied. In heterodyne detection these features disappear at a high power level of the heterodyne oscillator, and a substantial increase is observed in the response, this is caused by a higher differential resistance of the microbridge. The maximum sensitivty is achieved with selective detection.