Switching Currents Limited by Single Phase Slips in One-Dimensional Superconducting Al Nanowires

被引:69
作者
Li, Peng [1 ]
Wu, Phillip M. [1 ]
Bomze, Yuriy [1 ]
Borzenets, Ivan V. [1 ]
Finkelstein, Gleb [1 ]
Chang, A. M. [1 ]
机构
[1] Duke Univ, Dept Phys, Durham, NC 27708 USA
关键词
ZERO-VOLTAGE STATE; RESISTIVE TRANSITION; QUANTUM; WIRES; JUNCTIONS;
D O I
10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.137004
中图分类号
O4 [物理学];
学科分类号
0702 ;
摘要
An aluminum nanowire switches from superconducting to normal as the current is increased in an upsweep. The switching current (I-s) averaged over upsweeps approximately follows the depairing critical current (I-c) but falls below it. Fluctuations in I-s exhibit three distinct regions of behaviors and are nonmonotonic in temperature: saturation well below the critical temperature T-c, an increase as T-2/3 at intermediate temperatures, and a rapid decrease close to T-c. Heat dissipation analysis indicates that a single phase slip is able to trigger switching at low and intermediate temperatures, whereby the T-2/3 dependence arises from the thermal activation of a phase slip, while saturation at low temperatures provides striking evidence that the phase slips by macroscopic quantum tunneling.
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页数:5
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