Andreev Reflection and Proximity effect

Abstract

The Andreev Reflection is the key mechanism for the superconducting proximity effect. It provides phase correlations in a system of non-interacting electrons at mesoscopic scales, i.e. over distances much larger than the microscopic lengths : Fermi wavelength and elastic electron mean free path. This field of research has attracted an increasing interest in the recent years in part because of the tremendous development of nanofabrication technologies, and also because of the richness of the involved quantum effects. In this paper we review some recently achieved advances. We also discuss new open questions, in particular non-equilibrium effects and proximity effect in systems with ferromagnetic elements.

17 pages, no figure, to appear in J. of Low Temp. Phys., proceeding of the LT satellite conference "Electron Transport in Mesoscopic Systems", reference list corrected

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• Proximity effect between two superconductors spatially resolved by scanning tunneling spectroscopy
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• Andreev reflections and the quantum physics of black holes
• Spontaneous Momentum Dissipation and Coexistence of Phases in Holographic Horndeski Theory
• Bi-2212/1T-TaS${}_2$ Van der Waals junctions: Interplay of proximity induced high-$T_c$ superconductivity and CDW order
• Bosons falling into a black hole: A superfluid analogue
• Local density of states in clean two-dimensional superconductor--normal metal--superconductor heterostructures