Critical voltage of a mesoscopic superconductor.
We study the influence of a voltage-driven nonequilibrium of quasiparticles on the properties of short mesoscopic superconducting wires. We employ a numerical calculation based upon the Usadel equation. Going beyond linear response, we find a nonthermal energy distribution of the quasiparticles caused by the applied bias voltage. It is demonstrated that this nonequilibrium drives the system from the superconducting state to the normal state, at a current density far below the critical depairing current density.
Keizer
R S
RS
Kavli Institute of NanoScience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands.
Flokstra
M G
MG
Aarts
J
J
Klapwijk
T M
TM