The rapidity and low power consumption of superconducting electronics makes them an ideal substrate for physical reservoir computing, which commandeers the computational power inherent to the evolution of a dynamical system for the purposes of performing machine learning tasks. We focus on a subset of superconducting circuits that exhibit soliton-like dynamics in simple transmission line geometries. With numerical simulations we demonstrate the effectiveness of these circuits in performing higher-order parity calculations and channel equalization at rates approaching 100 Gb/s. The availability of a proven superconducting logic scheme considerably simplifies the path to a fully integrated reservoir computing platform and makes superconducting reservoirs an enticing substrate for high rate signal processing applications.
In this article, an analytical description is presented based on the master equation. This master equation is formed from the system of superconducting phase qubit which is coupled to a torsional resonator and damped by a dispersive reservoir. An analytical approach for searching of some physical phenomena on the qubit system is presented, such as qubit inversion, purity and negativity. In addition, these phenomena are discussed for the resonance and off-resonance cases for many different initial states. From computational results, it is found that the mentioned phenomena depend on the dispers…
An investigation of the role of the proximity effect in current cross correlations in multiterminal, channel-mixing, normal-superconducting systems is presented. The proposed experiment is an electrical analog of the optical Hanbury Brown Twiss intensity cross correlation experiment. A chaotic quantum dot is connected via quantum point contacts to two normal and one superconducting reservoir. For dominating coupling of the dot to the superconducting reservoir, a magnetic flux of the order of a flux quantum in the dot suppresses the proximity effect and reverses the sign of the cross correlatio…
We consider an array of Cooper Pair Boxes, each of which is coupled to a superconducting reservoir by a capacitive tunnel junction. We discuss two effects that probe not just the quantum nature of the islands, but also of the superconducting reservoir coupled to them. These are analogues to the well-known quantum optical effects `superradiance,' and `revival.' When revival is extended to multiple systems, we find that `entanglement revival' can also be observed. In order to study the above effects, we utilise a highly simplified model for these systems in which all the single-electron energy e…
We studied a mesoscopic cross-like normal metal structure connected to two superconducting (S) and two normal (N) reservoirs. We observed the Josephson effect under unusual conditions when there is no current through one of the two S/N interfaces. The potential difference between the S reservoirs was zero unless the voltage applied between S and N reservoirs exceeded a critical value although the electric potential in the N wire connecting the superconductors varied in a nonmonotonic way. The observed effects are discussed theoretically.
It is well established that a correlated quantum impurity embedded in a metallic host can form the many-body Kondo state with itinerant electrons due to the effective antiferromagnetic coupling. Such effect is manifested spectroscopically by a narrow Abrikosov-Suhl peak appearing at the Fermi level below a characteristic temperature T_K. Recent experiments using nanoscopic heterojunctions where the correlated quantum impurities (dots) are coupled to superconducting reservoirs revealed that the Kondo-type correlations are substantially weaker because: i) the single-particle states of supercondu…
We explore the role of charge reservoir layers (CRLs) on the superconducting transition temperature of cuprate superconductors. Specifically, we study the effect of CRLs with efficient short distance dielectric screening coupled capacitively to copper oxide metallic layers. We argue that dielectric screening at short distances and at frequencies of the order of the superconducting gap, but small compared to the Fermi energy can significantly enhance T$_c$, the transition temperature of an unconventional superconductor. We discuss the relevance of our qualitative arguments to a broader class of…
We demonstrate non-adiabatic charge pumping utilizing a sequence of coherent oscillations between a superconducting island and two reservoirs. Our method, based on pulsed quantum state manipulations, allows to speedup charge pumping to a rate which is limited by the coupling between the island and the reservoirs given by the Josephson energy. Our experimental and theoretical studies also demonstrate that relaxation can be employed to reset the pump and avoid accumulation of errors due to non-ideal control pulses.
We study fundamental limitations on the energy relaxation rate of a superconducting charge qubit with a large-gap Cooper-pair box, $Δ_b > Δ_r$. At a sufficiently large mismatch between the gap energies in the box $Δ_b$ and in the reservoir $Δ_r$,"quasiparticle poisoning" becomes ineffective even in the presence of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in the reservoir. The qubit relaxation still may occur due to higher-order (Andreev) processes. In this paper we evaluate the qubit energy relaxation rate due to Andreev processes.
We investigate the energy and phase relaxation of a superconducting qubit caused by a single quasiparticle. In our model, the qubit is an isolated system consisting of a small island (Cooper-pair box) and a larger superconductor (reservoir) connected with each other by a tunable Josephson junction. If such system contains an odd number of electrons, then even at lowest temperatures a single quasiparticle is present in the qubit. Tunneling of a quasiparticle between the reservoir and the Cooper-pair box results in the relaxation of the qubit. We derive master equations governing the evolution o…
We review electronic transport in superconducting junctions with Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. Transport measurements provide evidence for chiral domain walls and, therefore, chiral superconductivity in superconducting Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, but so far, the symmetry of the underlying superconducting state remains inconclusive. Further studies involving density of states measurements and spin-polarised transport in local/non--local Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ junctions with magnetic materials could lead to fundamental discoveries and a better understanding of the superconducting state.
In their comment Calandra \textit{et al} \cite{Calandra}, assert two points: (1) the estimate of charge transfer from Li to graphene layers in LiC$_6$ in our letter \cite{Pan2011c} is incorrect because of the three dimensional (3D) character of the electronic structure in bulk LiC$_6$; (2) our main claim that the superconductivity in graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) is graphene-sheet-driven is therefore invalid.
A superconducting qubit coupled to an open transmission line represents an implementation of the spin-boson model with a broadband environment. We show that this environment can be engineered by introducing partial reflectors into the transmission line, allowing to shape the spectral function, J(ω), of the spin-boson model. The spectral function can be accessed by measuring the resonance fluorescence of the qubit, which provides information on both the engineered environment and the coupling between qubit and transmission line. The spectral function of a transmission line without partial refle…
We present a theory for the nonequilibrium current in a mesoscopic Josephson junction which is coupled to a normal electron reservoir, and apply it to a chaotic junction. Large sample-to-sample fluctuations of the critical current $I_{\rm c}$ are found, with ${rms} I_{\rm c} \simeq \sqrt{N}eΔ/\hbar$, when the voltage difference eV between the electron reservoir and the junction exceeds the superconducting gap $Δ$ and the number of modes N connecting the junction to the superconducting electrodes is large.
Raman spectroscopy of a cobalt-doped iron-pnictide superconductor reveals the complex electronic structure of the superconducting state in this material. [Viewpoint on Phys. Rev. B 80, 180510 (2009), arXiv:0910.0898]
We have performed photoemission studies of the electronic structure in LiC$_6$ and KC$_8$, a non-superconducting and a superconducting graphite intercalation compound, respectively. We have found that the charge transfer from the intercalant layers to graphene layers is larger in KC$_8$ than in LiC$_6$, opposite of what might be expected from their chemical composition. We have also measured the strength of the electron-phonon interaction on the graphene-derived Fermi surface to carbon derived phonons in both materials and found that it follows a universal trend where the coupling strength and…
The performance of hybrid superconducting electronic coolers is usually limited by the accumulation of hot quasi-particles in the superconducting leads. This issue is all the more stringent in large-scale and high-power devices, as required by applications. Introducing a metallic drain connected to the superconducting electrodes via a fine-tuned tunnel barrier, we efficiently remove quasi-particles and obtain electronic cooling from 300 mK down to 130 mK with a 400 pW cooling power. A simple thermal model accounts for the experimental observations.
We have measured the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) and the diamagnetic susceptibility of La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystals in various magnetic fields. We observed a field-induced evolution from an apparent Tc phase to an intrinsic Tc1 = 15 K or Tc2 = 30 K phase characterized by "magic" hole concentration which is commensurate with that of a two dimensional electronic lattice. The onset Tc of the intrinsic superconducting phases remains robust up to H = 5 Tesla. We suggest that the intrinsic superconducting phases at "magic" doping concentrations are the pristine electronic phases of hig…
The voltage-carrying state of superconducting NbTiN nanowires, used for single-photon detectors, is analyzed. Upon lowering the current, the wire returns to the superconducting state in a steplike pattern, which differs from sample to sample. Elimination of geometrical inhomogeneities, such as sharp corners, does not remove these steplike features. They appear to be intrinsic to the material. Since the material is strongly disordered, electronic inhomogeneities are considered as a possible cause. A thermal model, taking into account random variations of the electronic properties along the wire…
We study coherent quantum transport through a superconducting film connected to normal-metal electrodes. Simple expressions for the differential conductance and the local density of states are obtained in the clean limit and for transparent interfaces. Quasiparticle interference causes periodic vanishing of the Andreev reflection at the energies of geometrical resonances, subgap transport, and gapless superconductivity near the interfaces. Application of the results to spectroscopic measurements of the superconducting gap and the Fermi velocity is analyzed.
A new concept for nonvolatile superconducting memories is proposed. The devices combine ferromagnetic dots for the storage of the data and Josephson junctions for their readout. Good scalability is expected for large scale integration. First memory cells have been implemented using 3 $μ$m-Nb-technology and permalloy dots. Nonvolatile data storage at 300 K was demonstrated.
High-quality polycrystalline SmFeAsO0.75 was synthesized with a superconducting transition width less than 1 K, and the electronic behavior was systematically studied by transport and specific heat measurements. An obvious superconducting jump was witnessed, together with a very small normalized superconducting jump, which is much smaller than expected by the BCS theory. A strong temperature dependent Hall coefficient was found and attributed to the partial gapping of the Fermi surface up to the temperature of 160 K which was predicted and supported by the emergence of the pseudogap. The charg…
We study the field-angle resolved electronic Raman scattering in 2-dimensional d-wave superconducting vortex states theoretically by quasi-classical approximation, the so-called Doppler-shift method. An analytic expression is obtained for the field angle dependence of the Raman scattering amplitude at zero temperature. After numerical integration, we obtain the scattering intensity for various field angles by changing the Raman shift energy. Field-angle resolved electronic Raman scattering turns out to be an effective method for probing unconventional superconducting gap structures. It shows a…
This paper gives a detailed numerical study of the superconducting electronic heat transport in the unconventional multiband superconductor Strontium Ruthenate Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. The study demostrates that a model with different nodal structures on different sheets of the Fermi surface is able to describe quantitatively experimental heat transport data. The contribution of the density of states DOS is given for each sheet of the Fermi surface and the total contribution is also calculated. Finally, a discussion of the universal character of the electronic heat transport in unconventional supercondu…
Thermo-electric transport at the nano-scale is a rapidly developing topic, in particular in superconductor-based hybrid devices. In this review paper, we first discuss the fundamental principles of electronic cooling in mesoscopic superconducting hybrid structures, the related limitations and applications. We review recent work performed in Grenoble on the effects of Andreev reflection, photonic heat transport, phonon cooling, as well as on an innovative fabrication technique for powerful coolers.
We report electronic structure calculations for Ta$_2$PdS$_5$, which is a layered superconductor containing heavy elements and displaying an upper critical field, $H_{c2}(0)$, $\sim$3 times higher than the estimated Pauli limit. We show that this is a multiband superconductor that is most likely in the strong coupling regime. This provides an alternative explanation to strong spin orbit scattering for the high upper critical field.
Recently we have proposed a s+g-wave model for the superconductivity in borocarbides, YNi2B2C and LuNi2B2C. In the present paper we first summarize thermodynamic properties of s+g-wave model. Then we shall analyse the recent Raman spectra data of RNi2B2C (with R=Lu and Y) by Yang et al. The present model appears to describe salient features of the Raman spectra.
DFT simulation based ab-initio approach has been executed for investigating the comparative study of the physical properties of superconducting disilicide materials YT$_2$Si$_2$ (T= Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir). This is the first comparative theoretical investigation of these materials, which is done through Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package module.
Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy is used to observe changes in the electronic structure of bulk-doped topological insulator Cu$_x$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ as additional copper atoms are deposited onto the cleaved crystal surface. Carrier density and surface-normal electrical field strength near the crystal surface are estimated to consider the effect of chemical surface gating on atypical superconducting properties associated with topological insulator order, such as the dynamics of theoretically predicted Majorana Fermion vortices.
We use resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS) to quantify the hole distribution in a superlattice of insulating La2CuO4 (LCO) and overdoped La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO4 (LSCO). Despite its non-superconducting constituents, this structure is superconducting with T_{c}=38 K. We found that the conducting holes redistribute electronically from LSCO to the LCO layers. The LCO layers were found to be optimally doped, suggesting they are the main drivers of superconductivity. Our results demonstrate the utility of RSXS for separating electronic from structural effects at oxide interfaces.
Our recent year's studies of the prototypal FeSe and molecule-intercalated (Li,Fe)OHFeSe superconductor systems are briefly reviewed here, with emphasis on experimental observations of the link between the superconductivity and normal-state electronic property in the single crystals and films. These samples were successfully synthesized by our recently developed soft-chemical hydrothermal methods, which are also briefly described. Particularly in the Mn-doped high-Tc (Li,Fe)OHFeSe film, a strong enhancement of the superconducting critical current density was achieved, which is promising for pr…
We use neutron scattering to demonstrate that electron-doped superconducting Pr0.88LaCe0.12CuO4 in the underdoped regime is electronically phase separated in the ground state, showing the coexistence of a superconducting phase with a three-dimensional antiferromagnetically ordered phase and a quasi-two-dimensional spin density wave modulation. The Neel temperature of both antiferromagnetic phases decreases linearly with increasing superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and vanishes when optimal superconductivity is achieved. These results indicate that the electron-doped copper oxides are…
We have performed temperature (T) - dependent laser-photoemission spectroscopy of antiferromagnetic (AF) superconductor ErNi2B2C to study the electronic-structure evolution reflecting the interplay between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. The spectra at the superconducting (SC) phase show a very broad spectral shape. T-dependent SC gap shows a sudden deviation from the BCS prediction just below TN. This observation can be well explained by the theoretical model and thus represents characteristic bulk electronic structure of the AF SC phase for the first time.
We report the electrical transport in vertical Josephson tunnel junctions (area 400 $μm$$^2$) using GdBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_7$$_{-δ}$ electrodes and SrTiO$_3$ as an insulating barrier (with thicknesses between 1 nm and 4 nm). The results show Josephson coupling for junctions with SrTiO$_3$ barriers of 1 nm and 2 nm. The latter displays a Josephson of 8.9 mV at 12 K. This value is larger than the usually observed in planar arrays of junctions. Our results are promising for the development of superconducting electronic devices in the terahertz regime.
We investigate the competition between the superconducting and the excitonic phases on Dirac electrons on a bipartite planar lattice. The conditions for the appearance of superconductivity or excitonic condensate are given by the minima of the free energy and our results are explained.
By means of DFT-based first-principles calculations, we examine two polymorphs of the newly synthesized 1111-like MgFeSeO as possible new superconducting systems. We have found that the polymorph with blocks [MgO], where Mg atoms are placed in the centers of O4 tetrahedra, is dynamically unstable - unlike the ZrCuSiAs-type polymorph with oxygen atoms placed in the centers of Mg4 tetrahedra. The characterization of this material covers the structural, elastic properties, electronic band structure, density of electronic states, and Fermi surface. Our calculations suggest that a high critical tem…
Resistivity, dc magnetization, and heat capacity measurements are reported for superconducting NaBi. Tc, the electronic contribution to the specific heat γ, the ΔCp/γTc ratio, and the Debye temperature are found to be 2.15 K, 3.4 mJmol-1K-2, 0.78, and 140 K respectively. The calculated electron-phonon coupling constant (λep = 0.62) implies that NaBi is a moderately coupled superconductor. The upper critical field and coherence length are found to be 250 Oe and 115 nm, respectively. Electronic structure calculations show NaBi to be a good metal, in agreement with the experiments; the px and py …
We study electronic properties of a superconducting topological insulator whose parent material is a topological insulator. We calculate the temperature dependence of the specific heat and spin susceptibility for four promising superconducting pairings proposed by L. Fu and E. Berg (Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 097001). Since the line shapes of temperature dependence of specific heat are almost identical among three of the four pairings, it is difficult to identify them simply from the specific heat. On the other hand, we obtain wide varieties of the temperature dependence of spin susceptibility for …
We analyze the electronic properties of the recently discovered stoichiometric superconductor CaKFe$_4$As$_4$ by combining an ab initio approach and a projection of the band structure to a lowenergy tight-binding Hamiltonian, based on the maximally localized Wannier orbitals of the 3d Fe states. We identify the key symmetries as well as differences and similarities in the electronic structure between CaKFe$_4$As$_4$ and the parent systems CaFe$_2$As$_2$ and KFe$_2$As$_2$. In particular, we find CaKFe4As4 to have a significantly more quasi-two-dimensional electronic structure than the latter sy…
We present details of carrier properties in high quality ${\rm Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_2As_2}$ single crystals obtained from electronic Raman scattering. The experiments indicate a strong band and momentum anisotropy of the electron dynamics above and below the superconducting transition highlighting the importance of complex band-dependent interactions. The presence of low energy spectral weight deep in the superconducting state suggests a gap with accidental nodes which may be lifted by doping and/or impurity scattering. When combined with other measurements, our observation of band and momentum …
Recent scanning tunneling microscopy on BSCCO 2212 has revealed a substantial spatial supermodulation of the energy gap in the superconducting state. We propose that this gap modulation is due to the superlattice modulations of the atoms in the structure, and hence the parameters in a microscopic model of the CuO2 plane. The gap modulation is estimated using renormalized mean field theory for a t-t'-J model on a superlattice. The results compare well with experiment.
Electronic structure of newly synthesized single crystals of calcium iron arsenide doped with sodium with Tc ranging from 33 to 14 K has been determined by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The measured band dispersion is in general agreement with theoretical calculations, nonetheless implies absence of Fermi surface nesting at antiferromagnetic vector. A clearly developing below Tc strongly band-dependant superconducting gap has been revealed for samples with various doping levels. BCS ratio for optimal doping, $2Δ/k_{\rm B}T_{\rm c}=5.5$, is substantially smaller than the nu…
Using ab-initio calculations, we study the electronic structure of gallium-doped germanium, which was found recently to be a superconductor, with a critical temperature of 0.5 Kelvins, and a particularly low density of Cooper pairs. The calculations of the electronic properties reveal that no sign of an impurity band is observed, and that the Fermi level lies in the valence band of Germanium. Moreover, the calculation of the phonon frequencies shows that a new mode associated to the Ga atom is appearing, around 175$ cm-1.
First principle FLAPW-GGA calculations have been performed with the purpose to understand the peculiarities of band structure and Fermi surface topology for recently discovered superconductor: Sr4V2Fe2As2O - in comparison with isostructural phase Sr4Sc2Fe2As2O6. Our main finding is that the replacement of Sc on vanadium leads to drastic transformation of electronic, magnetic and conductive properties of these materials: as against non-magnetic Sr4Sc2Fe2As2O6 which is formed from non-magnetic conducting [Fe2As2] and insulating [Sr4Sc2O6] blocks, Sr4V2Fe2As2O6 consists from non-magnetic conducti…
We study theoretically the electron transport in a 1D conductor adiabatically connected to a superconducting and normal metal leads. In the case of non-interacting we show that ac voltage applied along with dc voltage modifies I-V curve resembling a regime of photon-assisted tunneling. We obtain in the limit of low voltages, that the electron-electron interaction affects electronic transport resulting in a decrease of conductance and features in the frequency dependence of the impedance.
High-$T_c$ Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in 2D superconducting systems with coupled deep and quasi-flat electronic bands with van Hove singularities
In this work, we review and expand recent theoretical proposals for the realization of electronic thermal diodes based on tunnel-junctions of normal metal and superconducting thin films. Starting from the basic rectifying properties of a single hybrid tunnel junction, we will show how the rectification efficiency can be largely increased by combining multiple junctions in an asymmetric chain of tunnel-coupled islands. We propose three different designs, analyzing their performance and their potential advantages. Besides being relevant from a fundamental physics point of view, this kind of devi…
The electronic structure of the giant vortex states in a mesoscopic superconducting disk is studied in a dirty limit using the Usadel approach. The local density of states profiles are shown to be strongly affected by the effect of quasiparticle (QP) tunneling between the states localized in the vortex core and the ones bound to the sample edge. Decreasing temperature leads to a crossover between the edge-dominated and core-dominated regimes in the magnetic field dependence of the tunneling conductance. This crossover is discussed in the context of the efficiency of quasiparticle cooling by th…
The extensive ab initio total energy calculations using the VASP-PAW method with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation potential are applied to systematic investigation of structural, electronic and magnetic properties in quaternary oxybismuthides LaOMBi (where M = Sc, Ti...Ni, Cu). The energy spectrum features similar to lanthanum-iron oxyarsenide LaOFeAs and non-magnetic ground state are indicative of superconductivity possible in lanthanum-nickel oxybismuthide LaONiBi.
Precursor MgB2 thin films were prepared on sapphire substrates by magnetron sputtering. Influence of ex-situ annealing process on superconducting MgB2 thin films roughness is discussed. Optimized annealing process of MgB precursor thin films in vacuum results in smooth superconducting MgB2 thin films with roughness below 10 nm, critical temperature Tcon = 31 K and transition width DTc less than 1 K. Nano-bridges based on the superconducting MgB2 thin films using optical and Focused Ion Beam lithography were prepared. Critical current density jc (4.2 K) measured on 50 nm wide strip was 7.3x106 …
