Resonant tunneling of fluctuation Cooper pairs

Abstract

Superconducting fluctuations have proved to be an irreplaceable source of information about microscopic and macroscopic material parameters that could be inferred from the experiment. According to common wisdom, the effect of thermodynamic fluctuations in the vicinity of the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, is to round off all of the sharp corners and discontinuities, which otherwise would have been expected to occur at Tc. Here we report the current spikes due to radiation-induced resonant tunneling of fluctuation Cooper pairs between two superconductors which grow even sharper and more pronounced upon approach to Tc. This striking effect offers an unprecedented tool for direct measurements of fluctuation Cooper pairs' lifetime, which is key to our understanding of the fluctuation regime. Our finding marks a radical departure from the conventional view of superconducting fluctuations as blurring and rounding phenomenon.

arXiv comment6 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (5)

• The onset of the vortex-like Nernst signal above Tc in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 and Bi_2Sr_{2-y}La_yCuO_6
• Diamagnetism and Cooper pairing above $T_c$ in cuprates
• Giant Nernst Effect due to Fluctuating Cooper Pairs in Superconductors
• Probing Pseudogap by Josephson Tunneling
• Josephson current noise above Tc in superconducting tunnel junctions