Magnetic-field-induced stabilization of nonequilibrium superconductivity in a normal-metal/insulator/superconductor junction
Abstract
A small magnetic field is found to enhance relaxation processes in a superconductor, thus stabilizing superconductivity in nonequilibrium conditions. In a normal-metal (N)/insulator/superconductor (S) tunnel junction, applying a field of the order of 100μT leads to significantly improved cooling of the N island by quasiparticle (QP) tunneling. These findings are attributed to faster QP relaxation within the S electrodes as a result of enhanced QP drain through regions with a locally suppressed energy gap due to magnetic vortices in the S leads at some distance from the junction.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review B
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.84.220502
- Bibcode:
- 2011PhRvB..84v0502P
- Keywords:
-
- 74.50.+r;
- 74.25.Ha;
- 73.40.Rw;
- 07.20.Mc;
- Tunneling phenomena;
- point contacts weak links Josephson effects;
- Magnetic properties;
- Metal-insulator-metal structures;
- Cryogenics;
- refrigerators low-temperature detectors and other low-temperature equipment