Dynamics and energy distribution of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in superconducting tunnel junctions
K. Segall, C. Wilson, L. Li, L. Frunzio, S. Friedrich, M. C. Gaidis, D. E. Prober
DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.70.214520 · Physical Review B
Active bibliographic source — not scientific approval
Bibliographic access preserves source history; it does not approve extracted materials or validate reported claims. Review warnings on each occurrence separately.
Abstract
We present a full theoretical and experimental study of the dynamics and energy distribution of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in superconducting tunnel junctions (STJ’s). STJ’s are often used for single-photon spectrometers, where the numbers of quasiparticles excited by a photon provide a measure of the photon energy. The magnitude and fluctuations of the signal current in STJ detectors are in large part determined by the quasiparticle dynamics and energy distribution during the detection process. We use this as motivation to study the transport and energy distribution of nonequilibrium quasiparticles excited by x-ray photons in a lateral, imaging junction configuration. We present a full numerical model for the tunneling current of the major physical processes which determine the signal. We find that a diffusion framework models the quasiparticle dynamics well and that excited quasiparticles do not equilibrate to the lattice temperature during the time scales for tunneling. We extract physical time scales from the measured data, make comparisons with existing theories, and comment on implications for superconducting mesoscopic systems and single-photon detectors.
Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval
| Formula | Reported Tc (K) | Pressure (GPa) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ta Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
| Al Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
| Nb Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
Similar papers
Observation of nondissipative quasiparticle tunnel currents in superconducting tunnel junctions
similarity 0.98Qing Hu et al.
Source status unknown — claims are unverified
Evidence for an excited nonequilibrium quasiparticle distribution in superconducting tunnel junctions resulting from energy accumulation via sequential tunneling
similarity 0.98A. G. Kozorezov et al.
Source status unknown — claims are unverified
Strong Nonlinear Response of Superconducting Tunnel Junctions due to Localized Traps
similarity 0.97A. Poelaert et al.
Source status unknown — claims are unverified
Energy-dependent quasiparticle group velocity in a superconductor
similarity 0.96J. N. Ullom et al.
Source status unknown — claims are unverified
Nonequilibrium Quasiparticle Distribution in Superconducting Resonators: An Analytical Approach
similarity 0.96P.B. Fischer & G. Catelani
Source status unknown — claims are unverified
Dynamical quantum phase transitions in a mesoscopic superconducting system
similarity 0.96K. Wrześniewski et al.
Source status unknown — claims are unverified