Measurement of the current-phase relation of superconducting atomic contacts

M.L. Della Rocca (1) , M. Chauvin (1) , B. Huard (1) , H. Pothier (1) , Daniel Esteve (1) , C. Urbina (1)

1 QUANTRONICS - Quantronics Group

We have probed the current-phase relation of an atomic contact placed with a tunnel junction in a small superconducting loop. The measurements are in quantitative agreement with the predictions of a resistively shunted SQUID model in which the Josephson coupling of the contact is calculated using the independently determined transmissions of its conduction channels.

Domains: Mesoscopic Systems and Quantum Hall Effect [cond-mat.mes-hall]

M.L. Della Rocca, M. Chauvin, B. Huard, H. Pothier, Daniel Esteve, et al.. Measurement of the current-phase relation of superconducting atomic contacts. Physical Review Letters, 2007, 99 (12), pp.127005. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.127005⟩. ⟨hal-00166322v2⟩