Long-range coherence and mesoscopic transport in N-S metallic structures

Abstract

We review the mesoscopic transport in a diffusive proximity superconductor made of a normal metal (N) in metallic contact with a superconductor (S). The Andreev reflection of electrons on the N-S interface is responsible for the diffusion of electron pairs in N. Superconducting-like properties are induced in the normal metal. In particular, the conductivity of the N metal is locally enhanced by the proximity effect. A re-entrance of the metallic conductance occurs when all the energies involved (e.g. temperature and voltage) are small. The relevant characteristic energy is the Thouless energy which is $\hslash$ divided by the diffusion time for an electron travelling throughout the sample. In loop-shaped devices, a 1/T temperature-dependent oscillation of the magnetoresistance arises with a large amplitude from the long-range coherence of low-energy pairs.

Review paper, 13 pages with 5 included epsf figures, to appear in Superlattices and Microstructures, minor changes

References in corpus (6)

• Quantum Coherent Atomic Tunneling between Two Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensates
• Intrinsic Decoherence in Mesoscopic Systems
• Superconducting proximity effect in a mesoscopic ferromagnetic wire
• Long-Range Coherence in a Mesoscopic Metal near a Superconducting Interface
• Dissipative Electron Transport through Andreev Interferometers
• Coherent Electron Transport in Superconducting-Normal Metallic Films

Cited by in corpus (16)

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• Andreev Current-Induced Dissipation in a Hybrid Superconducting Tunnel Junction
• Theory of charge transport in diffusive normal metal / conventional superconductor point contacts
• Interplay Between Electron Over-Heating and ac Josephson Effect
• Electronic coolers based on superconducting tunnel junctions: fundamentals and applications
• Full electrostatic control of quantum interference in an extended trenched Josephson junction
• Andreev reflection and enhanced subgap conductance in NbN/Au/InGaAs-InP junctions
• Magnetoresistance of proximity coupled Au wires
• Observation of large $h/2e$ and $h/4e$ oscillations in a proximity dc superconducting quantum interference device
• InAs/MoRe hybrid semiconductor/superconductor nanowire devices
• Calorimetric readout of a superconducting proximity-effect thermometer
• Inherent thermometry in a hybrid superconducting tunnel junction
• Origin of Hysteresis in a Proximity Josephson Junction
• Competition between electronic cooling and Andreev dissipation in a superconducting micro-cooler
• Mesoscopic electron transport and atomic gases, a review of Frank W. J. Hekking's scientific work