Observation of Transition from Escape Dynamics to Underdamped Phase Diffusion in a Josephson Junction

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© 2005 American Physical Society (APS). http://www.aps.org/

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Volume Title

School of Science | A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2005

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Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

247002/1-4

Series

Physical Review Letters, Volume 94, Issue 24

Abstract

We have investigated the dynamics of underdamped Josephson junctions with a relatively small Josephson coupling EJ. In addition to the usual crossover between macroscopic quantum tunneling and thermally activated (TA) behavior we observe, for the first time, the transition from TA behavior to underdamped phase diffusion. Above the crossover temperature, the threshold for switching into the finite-voltage state becomes extremely sharp. We propose a (T, EJ) phase diagram with various regimes and show that for a proper description of it, dissipation and level quantization in a metastable well are crucial.

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Keywords

Josephson junctions, macroscopic quantum tunneling, thermally activated behavior

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Citation

Kivioja, J. M. & Nieminen, T. E. & Claudon, J. & Buisson, O. & Hekking, F. W. J. & Pekola, Jukka. 2005. Observation of Transition from Escape Dynamics to Underdamped Phase Diffusion in a Josephson Junction. Physical Review Letters. Volume 94, Issue 24. P. 247002/1-4. ISSN 0031-9007 (printed). DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.94.247002.