Abstract
The controlled tailoring of the energy distribution in an electron system opens the way to interesting new physics and device concepts, as demonstrated by research on metallic nanodevices during recent years. Here we investigate how Josephson coupling in a superconductor-InAs nanowire junction can be tuned by means of hot-electron injection and we show that a complete suppression of superconductive effects can be achieved using a power as low as 100 pW. Nanowires offer a novel design freedom as they allow axial and radial heterostructures to be defined as well as control over doping profiles, which can be crucial in the development of devices—such as nanorefrigerators—where precisely controlled and predictable energy barriers are mandatory. Our work provides estimates for unknown key thermal and electrical parameters, such as the electron-phonon coupling, in our InAs nanostructures.
References
de Gennes, P. G. Superconductivity of Metals and Alloys; W. A. Benjamin: New York, 1966.
Andreev, A. F. The thermal conductivity of the intermediate state in superconductors. Sov. Phys. JETP 1964, 19, 1228–1231.
Giazotto, F.; Peltonen, J. T.; Meschke, M.; Pekola, J. P. Superconducting quantum interference proximity transistor. Nature Phys. 2010, 6, 254–259.
Likharev, K. K. Superconducting weak links. Rev. Mod. Phys. 1979, 51, 101–159.
Lieber, C. M. Nanoscale science and technology: Building a big future from small things. MRS Bull. 2003, 28, 486–491.
Björk, M. T.; Ohlsson, B. J.; Sass, T.; Persson, A. I.; Thelander, C.; Magnusson, M. H.; Deppert, K.; Wallenberg, L. R.; Samuelson, L. One-dimensional steeplechase for electrons realized. Nano Lett. 2002, 2, 87–89.
Roddaro, S.; Fuhrer, A.; Brusheim, P.; Fasth, C.; Xu, H. Q.; Samuelson, L.; Xiang, J.; Lieber, C. M. Spin states of holes in Ge/Si nanowire quantum dots. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008, 101, 186802.
Hoffmann, E. A.; Nilsson, H. A.; Matthews, J. E.; Nakpathomkun, N.; Persson, A. I.; Samuelson, L.; Linke, H. Measuring temperature gradients over nanometer length scales. Nano Lett. 2009, 9, 779–783.
Xiang, J.; Vidan, A.; Tinkham, M.; Westervelt, R. M.; Lieber, C. M. Ge/Si nanowire mesoscopic Josephson junctions. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2006, 1, 208–213.
Doh, Y. -J.; van Dam, J. A.; Roest, A. L.; Bakkers, E. P. A. M.; Kouwenhoven, L. P.; De Franceschi, S. Tunable supercurrent through semiconductor nanowires. Science 2005, 309, 272–275.
Frielinghaus, R.; Batov, I. E.; Weides, M.; Kohlstedt, H.; Calarco, R.; Schäpers, Th. Josephson supercurrent in Nb/InN-nanowire/Nb junctions. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2010, 96, 132504.
van Dam, J.; Nazarov, Y. V.; Bakkers, E. P. A. M.; De Franceschi, S.; Kouwenhoven, L. P. Supercurrent reversal in quantum dots. Nature 2006, 442, 667–670.
Sand-Jespersen, T.; Paaske, J.; Andersen, B. M.; Grove-Rasmussen, K.; Jørgensen, H. I.; Aagesen, M.; Sørensen, C. B.; Lindelof, P. E.; Flensberg, K.; Nygård, J. Kondo-enhanced Andreev tunneling in InAs nanowire quantum dots. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2007, 99, 126603.
Wilhelm, F. K.; Schøn, G.; Zaikin, A. D. Mesoscopic superconducting-normal metal-superconducting transistor. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1998, 81, 1682–1685.
Morpurgo, A. F.; Klapwijk, T. M.; van Wees, B. J. Hot electron tunable supercurrent. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1998, 72, 966–968.
Schäpers, T.; Malindretos, J.; Neurohr, K.; Lachenmann, S.; van der Hart, A.; Crecelius, G.; Hardtdegen, H.; Lüth, H.; Golubov, A. A. Demonstration of a current-controlled three terminal Nb/InxGa1−x As/InP Josephson contact. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1998, 73, 2348–2350.
Baselmans, J. J. A.; Morpurgo, A. F.; van Wees, B. J.; Klapwijk, T. M. Reversing the direction of the supercurrent in a controllable Josephson junction. Nature 1999, 397, 43–45.
Crosser, M. S.; Virtanen, P.; Heikkilä, T. T.; Birge, N. O. Supercurrent-induced temperature gradient across a nonequilibrium SNS Josephson junction. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2006, 96 167004.
Giazotto, F.; Heikkilä, T. T.; Taddei, F.; Fazio, R.; Pekola, J. P.; Beltram, F. Tailoring Josephson coupling through superconductivity-induced nonequilibrium. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2004, 92, 137001.
Savin, A. M.; Pekola, J. P.; Flyktman, J. T.; Anthore, A.; Giazotto, F. Cold electron Josephson transistor. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2004, 84, 4179–4181.
Tirelli, S.; Savin, A. M.; Pascual Garcia, C.; Pekola, J. P.; Beltram, F.; Giazotto, F. Manipulation and generation of supercurrent in out-of-equilibrium Josephson tunnel nanojunctions. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008, 101, 077004.
Giazotto, F.; Heikkilä, T. T.; Luukanen, A.; Savin, A. M.; Pekola, J. P. Opportunities for mesoscopics in thermometry and refrigeration: Physics and applications. Rev. Mod. Phys. 2006, 78, 217–274.
Jiang, X.; Xiong, Q.; Nam, S.; Qian, F.; Li, Y.; Lieber, C. M. InAs/InP radial nanowire heterostructures as high electron mobility devices. Nano Lett. 2007, 7, 3214–3218.
Roddaro, S.; Nilsson, K.; Astromskas, G.; Samuelson, L.; Wernersson, L. -E.; Karlström, O.; Wacker, A. InAs nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2008, 92, 253509.
Heikkilä, T. T.; Särkkä, J.; Wilhelm, F. K. Supercurrentcarrying density of states in diffusive mesoscopic Josephson weak links. Phys. Rev. B 2002, 66, 184513.
Kulik, I. O.; Omelyan’chuk, A. N. Josephson effect in superconductive bridges: Microscopic theory. Fiz. Nizk. Temp. 1978, 4, 296–311 [Sov. J. Low Temp. Phys. 1978, 4, 142–156].
Courtois, H.; Meschke, M.; Peltonen, J. T.; Pekola, J. P. Origin of hysteresis in a proximity Josephson junction. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2008, 101, 067002.
Pascual García, C.; Giazotto F. Josephson current in nanofabricated V/Cu/V mesoscopic junctions. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2009, 94, 132508.
Clark, T. D.; Prance, R. J.; Grassie, A. D. C. Feasibility of hybrid Josephson field effect transistors. J. Appl. Phys. 1980, 51, 2736–2743.
Akazaki, T.; Takayanagi, H.; Nitta, J.; Enoki, T. A Josephson field effect transistor using an InAs-insertedchannel In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As inverted modulationdoped structure. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1996, 68, 418–420.
Meschke, M.; Peltonen, J. T.; Courtois, H.; Pekola J. P. Calorimetric readout of a superconducting proximity-effect thermometer. J. Low Temp. Phys. 2009, 154, 190–198.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Roddaro, S., Pescaglini, A., Ercolani, D. et al. Hot-electron effects in InAs nanowire Josephson junctions. Nano Res. 4, 259–265 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-010-0077-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-010-0077-6