TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantitative analysis of quantum phase slips in superconducting Mo 76Ge 24 nanowires revealed by switching-current statistics
AU - Aref, T.
AU - Levchenko, A.
AU - Vakaryuk, V.
AU - Bezryadin, A.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2012/7/9
Y1 - 2012/7/9
N2 - We measure quantum and thermal phase-slip rates using the standard deviation of the switching current in superconducting nanowires. Our rigorous quantitative analysis provides firm evidence for the presence of quantum phase slips (QPSs) in homogeneous nanowires at high bias currents. We observe that as temperature is lowered, thermal fluctuations freeze at a characteristic crossover temperature T q, below which the dispersion of the switching current saturates to a constant value, indicating the presence of QPSs. The scaling of the crossover temperature T q with the critical temperature T c is linear, T qT c, which is consistent with the theory of macroscopic quantum tunneling. We can convert the wires from the initial amorphous phase to a single-crystal phase, in situ, by applying calibrated voltage pulses. This technique allows us to probe directly the effects of the wire resistance, critical temperature, and morphology on thermal and quantum phase slips.
AB - We measure quantum and thermal phase-slip rates using the standard deviation of the switching current in superconducting nanowires. Our rigorous quantitative analysis provides firm evidence for the presence of quantum phase slips (QPSs) in homogeneous nanowires at high bias currents. We observe that as temperature is lowered, thermal fluctuations freeze at a characteristic crossover temperature T q, below which the dispersion of the switching current saturates to a constant value, indicating the presence of QPSs. The scaling of the crossover temperature T q with the critical temperature T c is linear, T qT c, which is consistent with the theory of macroscopic quantum tunneling. We can convert the wires from the initial amorphous phase to a single-crystal phase, in situ, by applying calibrated voltage pulses. This technique allows us to probe directly the effects of the wire resistance, critical temperature, and morphology on thermal and quantum phase slips.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.86.024507
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.86.024507
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84863696048
VL - 86
JO - Physical Review B-Condensed Matter
JF - Physical Review B-Condensed Matter
SN - 0163-1829
IS - 2
M1 - 024507
ER -