SPICE Workshop on Hybrid Correlated States and Dynamics in Quantum Materials, May 14th - 16th 2024
Katharina Franke
Martina Trahms1, Larissa Melischek2, Jacob F. Steiner2, Bharti Mahendru1, Idan Tamir1, Nils Bogdanoff1, Olof Peters1, Gael Reecht1, Clemens B. Winkelmann3, Felix von Oppen2, Katharina Franke1
1 Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany
2 Fachbereich Physik and Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
3 Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Institut Néel, Grenoble, France
franke@physik.fu-berlin.de
Diode behavior in superconducting junctions describes the phenomenon of dissipationless current flow in one direction, while the current in the other direction underlies dissipation. Such non- reciprocal behavior has been found in Josephson junctions where inversion and time-reversal symmetry are broken. So far, most realizations are made of layered structures.
Here, we create atomic-scale Josephson junctions in a scanning tunneling microscope and investigate their transport properties in current-biased mode. This allows characterization of the switching and retrapping currents, which separate the dissipationless from the dissipative branch. Plain Pb-Pb junctions show hysteretic and reciprocal behavior. By insertion of single magnetic adatoms the retrapping current adopts nonreciprocity, mimicking diode behavior.
We show that the nonreciprocity of the retrapping current depends on the particle-hole asymmetry of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states inside the superconducting energy gap [1]. Aided by theoretical modelling, we ascribe the non-reciprocity to dissipative quasiparticle currents flowing via Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states inside the superconducting energy gap [1,2].
References
[1] M. Trahms, L. Melischek, J. F. Steiner, B. Mahendru, I. Tamir, N. Bogdanoff, O. Peters, G. Reecht, C. B. Winkelmann, F. von Oppen, K. J. Franke, Nature 615, 628 (2023)
[2] J. F. Steiner, L. Melischek, M. Trahms, K. J. Franke, F. von Oppen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 177002 (2023)