Josephson junction abbr., JJ (rus. джозефсоновский переход otherwise джозефсоновский контакт) — solid-state superconducting nanoelement in which a tunnel current flows through a thin insulating or non-superconducting layer between two superconductors.

Description

A Josephson junction consists of two superconducting electrodes coupled in the so-called weak link, i.e. small (with dimensions of the order of the superconductor coherence length) section of the superconducting circuit, in which the critical current is suppressed significantly. By way of implementation of the weak link all junctions are divided into 1) junctions without current concentration (weak coupling of superconductors is achieved by the introduction of a thin non-superconducting layer of dielectric or normal (nonsuperconducting) metal (S-N-S sandwich) and 2) junctions with current concentration, in which the weak coupling is achieved through a sharp decrease in the length and cross section of the superconductor to the size of the order of the superconductor coherence length (point contact, variable thickness thin film bridge).

Authors

  • Alexey S. Razumovsky
  • Eugene S. Soldatov

Source

  1. Likharev K. K., Ul'rikh B. T. Systems with Josephson junctions. Fundamentals of the theory (in Russian). — Moscow: Izd-vo MGU, 1978. — 448 p.