Subgap structure in asymmetric superconducting tunnel junctions

Markus Ternes, Wolf Dieter Schneider, Juan Carlos Cuevas, Christopher P. Lutz, Cyrus F. Hirjibehedin, Andreas J. Heinrich

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Abstract

Conductance measurements between two superconducting electrodes with different gap energies Δ1 and Δ2 were performed with a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The temperature dependence and tip-sample distance dependence of the spectra show a pronounced subgap structure which is interpreted as multiple Andreev reflections (MARs). Low temperature conductance peaks not seen in symmetric superconducting tunnel junctions arise at energies ± Δ1 - Δ2 when the superconducting gaps are sufficiently different. We propose an explanation of these findings by extending the full counting statistics of MARs to describe these asymmetric junctions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number132501
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume74
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006

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