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A. Martin-Rodero

Publications and source records attributed to A. Martin-Rodero.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2001

Subharmonic Shapiro steps and assisted tunneling in superconducting point contacts

We analyze the current in a superconducting point contact of arbitrary transmission in the presence of a microwave radiation. The interplay between the ac Josephson current and the microwave signal gives rise to Shapiro steps at voltages V = (m/n) \hbar ω_r/2e, where n,m are integer numbers and ω_r is the radiation frequency. The subharmonic steps (n different from 1) are a consequence of the ocurrence of multiple Andreev reflections (MAR) and provide an unambiguous signature of the peculiar ac Josephson effect at high transmission. Moreover, the dc current exhibits a rich subgap structure due to photon-assisted MARs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2001

Direct link between Coulomb blockade and shot noise in a quantum coherent structure

We analyze the current-voltage characteristic of a quantum conduction channel coupled to an electromagnetic environment of arbitrary frequency-dependent impedance. In the weak blockade regime the correction to the ohmic behavior is directly related to the channel current fluctuations vanishing at perfect transmission in the same way as shot noise. This relation can be generalized to describe the environmental Coulomb blockade in a generic mesoscopic conductor coupled to an external impedance, as the response of the latter to the current fluctuations in the former.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2000

Kondo effect in Normal-Superconductor Quantum Dots

We study the transport properties of a quantum dot coupled to a normal and a superconducting lead. The dot is represented by a generalized Anderson model. Correlation effects are taken into account by an appropriate self-energy which interpolates between the limits of weak and strong coupling to the leads. The transport properties of the system are controlled by the interplay between the Kondo effect and Andreev reflection processes. We show that, depending on the parameters range the conductance can either be enhanced or suppressed as compared to the normal case. In particular, by adequately tunning the coupling to the leads one can reach the maximum value $4e^2/h$ for the conductance.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2000

Conduction channels of superconducting quantum point contacts

Atomic quantum point contacts accommodate a small number of conduction channels. Their number N and transmission coefficients {T_n} can be determined by analyzing the subgap structure due to multiple Andreev reflections in the current-voltage (IV) characteristics in the superconducting state. With the help of mechanically controllable break-junctions we have produced Al contacts consisting of a small number of atoms. In the smallest stable contacts, usually three channels contribute to the transport. We show here that the channel ensemble {T_n} of few atom contacts remains unchanged up to temperatures and magnetic fields approaching the critical temperature and the critical field, respectively, giving experimental evidence for the prediction that the conduction channels are the same in the normal and in the superconducting state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1999

Interpolative method for transport properties of quantum dots in the Kondo regime

We present an interpolative method for describing coherent transport through an interacting quantum dot. The idea of the method is to construct an approximate electron self-energy which becomes exact both in the limits of weak and strong coupling to the leads. The validity of the approximation is first checked for the case of a single (spin-degenerate) dot level. A generalization to the multilevel case is then discussed. We present results both for the density of states and the temperature dependent linear conductance showing the transition from the Kondo to the Coulomb blockade regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv1999

Transport in multilevel quantum dots: from the Kondo effect to the Coulomb blockade regime

A new theoretical method is introduced to study coherent electron transport in an interacting multilevel quantum dot. The method yields the correct behavior both in the limit of weak and strong coupling to the leads, giving a unified description of Coulomb blockade and the Kondo effect. Results for the density of states and the temperature dependent conductance for a two- level dot are presented. The relevance of these results in connection to recent experiments on the Kondo effect in semiconducting quantum dots is discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv1998

Shot noise and coherent multiple charge transfer in superconducting quantum point-contacts

We analyze the shot noise in a voltage biased superconducting quantum point-contact. Results are presented for the single channel case with arbitrary transmission. In the limit of very low transmission it is found that the effective charge, defined from the noise-current ratio, exhibits a step-like behavior as a function of voltage with well defined plateaus at integer values of the electronic charge. This multiple charge corresponds to the transmitted charge in a Multiple Andreev Reflection (MAR) process. This effect gradually disappears for increasing transmission due to interference between different MAR processes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1998

General transport properties of superconducting quantum point contacts: a Green functions approach

We discuss the general transport properties of superconducting quantum point contacts. We show how these properties can be obtained from a microscopic model using nonequilibrium Green function techniques. For the case of a one-channel contact we analyze the response under different biasing conditions: constant applied voltage, current bias and microwave-induced transport. Current fluctuations are also analyzed with particular emphasis on thermal and shot-noise. Finally, the case of superconducting transport through a resonant level is discussed. The calculated properties show a remarkable agreement with the available experimental data from atomic-size contacts measurements. We suggest the possibility of extending this comparison to several other predictions of the theory.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv1997

Microscopic origin of the conducting channels in metallic atomic-size contacts

We present a theoretical approach which allows to determine the number and orbital character of the conducting channels in metallic atomic contacts. We show how the conducting channels arise from the atomic orbitals having a significant contribution to the bands around the Fermi level. Our theory predicts that the number of conducting channels with non negligible transmission is 3 for Al and 5 for Nb one-atom contacts, in agreement with recent experiments. These results are shown to be robust with respect to disorder. The experimental values of the channels transmissions lie within the calculated distributions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv1996

Resonant tunneling through a small quantum dot coupled to superconducting leads

We address the problem of non-linear transport through discrete electronic levels in a small quantum dot coupled to superconducting electrodes. In our approach the low temperature I-V characteristics can be calculated including all multiple quasi-particle and Andreev processes. The limit of very weak coupling to the leads and large charging energies is briefly analyzed comparing the calculated lineshapes of the I-V curves with recent experimental results. When the coupling to the leads increases and Coulomb blockade effects can be neglected, the combination of multiple Andreev processes and resonant transmission gives rise to a rich subgap structure which largely differs from the one found in the more studied S-N-S systems. We show how multiple processes can be included within a simple sequential tunneling picture qualitatively explaining the subgap structure. We suggest an experimental set-up where the predicted effects could be observed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1996

Hamiltonian approach to the transport properties of superconducting quantum point contacts

A microscopic theory of the transport properties of quantum point contacts giving a unified description of the normal conductor- superconductor (N-S) and superconductor-superconductor (S-S) cases is presented. It is based on a model Hamiltonian describing charge transfer processes in the contact region and makes use of non-equilibrium Green function techniques for the calculation of the relevant quantities. It is explicitly shown that when calculations are performed up to infinite order in the coupling between the electrodes, the theory contains all known results predicted by the more usual scattering approach for N-S and S-S contacts. For the latter we introduce a specific formulation for dealing with the non-stationary transport properties. An efficient algorithm is developed for obtaining the dc and ac current components, which allows a detailed analysis of the different current-voltage characteristics for all range of parameters. We finally address the less understood small bias limit, for which some analytical results can be obtained within the present formalism. It is shown that four different physical regimes can be reached in this limit depending on the values of the inelastic scattering rate and the contact transmission. The behavior of the system in these regimes is discussed together with the conditions for their experimental observability.

cond-mat↗
arXiv1995

Thermal noise in superconducting quantum point-contacts

We present a theory for the frequency-dependent current fluctuations in superconducting quantum point-contacts (SQPC) within the dc transport regime. This theory is valid for any barrier transparency between the tunnel and ballistic limits, yielding an analytical expression for the fluctuations spectrum in the subgap region. It is shown that the level of noise in a quasi-ballistic SQPC may have a huge increase in comparison with the case of a normal contact carrying the same average current. The effect of this high level of noise on the actual observability of the current-phase relation for a ballistic point-contact is discussed in connection with recent experimental measurements.

cond-mat↗
arXiv1994

Self-Consistent Theory of Superconducting Mesoscopic Weak Links

A microscopic model for describing a superconducting mesoscopic weak link is presented. We consider a model geometry consisting of a narrow channel coupled to wider superconducting electrodes which act as reservoirs fixing the asymptotic values of the complex order parameter. For this model, the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations are discretized and solved self-consistently using a non-equilibrium Green functions formalism. The transport properties and the electronic excitation spectra of this system are studied for the different regimes that can be reached by varying parameters like coherence length, constriction length, normal transmission coefficient and temperature. We study in detail the transition from the point contact limit to the infinite channel length case, analyzing the maximum Josephson current that can be sustained by the weak link as a function of its transmission coefficient and length.

cond-mat↗
arXiv1993

Microscopic Theory of Josephson Mesoscopic Constrictions

We present a microscopic theory for the d.c. Josephson effect in model mesoscopic constrictions. Our method is based on a non-equilibrium Green function formalism which allows for a self-consistent determination of the order parameter profile along the constriction. The various regimes defined by the different length scales (Fermi wavelength $λ_F$, coherence length $ξ_0$ and constriction length $L_C$) can be analyzed, including the case where all these lengths are comparable. For the case $λ_F \tilde{<} (L_C,ξ_0)$ phase oscillations with spatial period $λ_F/2$ can be observed. In the case of $L_C>ξ_0$ solutions with a phase-slip center inside the constriction can be found, in agreement with previous phenomenological theories.

cond-mat↗