Abstract
An accurate standard of electric current is a long-standing challenge of modern metrology. It has been predicted that a superconducting nanowire in the regime of quantum fluctuations can be considered as the dynamic equivalent of a chain of conventional Josephson junctions. In full analogy with the quantum standard of electric voltage based on the Josephson effect, the quantum phase slip phenomenon in ultrathin superconducting nanowires could be used for building the quantum standard of electric current. This work presents advances toward this ultimate goal.
Highlights
The subject of the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) superconductivity has attracted significant interest.6 It has been demonstrated that in sufficiently narrow channels, quantum fluctuations of the complex order parameter D 1⁄4 jDjeiu may significantly alter the text-book attributes of superconductivity such as zero resistivity,7–13 persistent currents,14,15 and energy gap in excitation spectra.16,17 The particular manifestation of quantum fluctuations corresponding to momentary nulling of the order parameter modulus jDj and “slippage” of the phase u by 2p is called quantum phase slip (QPS)
It has been predicted that a superconducting nanowire in the regime of quantum fluctuations can be considered as the dynamic equivalent of a chain of conventional Josephson junctions
In full analogy with the quantum standard of electric voltage based on the Josephson effect, the quantum phase slip phenomenon in ultrathin superconducting nanowires could be used for building the quantum standard of electric current
Summary
The subject of the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) superconductivity has attracted significant interest.6 It has been demonstrated that in sufficiently narrow channels, quantum fluctuations of the complex order parameter D 1⁄4 jDjeiu may significantly alter the text-book attributes of superconductivity such as zero resistivity,7–13 persistent currents,14,15 and energy gap in excitation spectra.16,17 The particular manifestation of quantum fluctuations corresponding to momentary nulling of the order parameter modulus jDj and “slippage” of the phase u by 2p is called quantum phase slip (QPS). The observation leads to a counterintuitive effect: a current-biased narrow superconducting channel governed by quantum fluctuations (QPS junction—QPSJ) should demonstrate an insulating behavior—the Coulomb blockade.19,20
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