Planar Josephson Tunnel Junctions in a Transverse Magnetic Field

TL;DR

This paper investigates the behavior of planar Josephson tunnel junctions under a transverse magnetic field, revealing advantages over in-plane fields for suppressing tunnel current and resonances, with implications for practical device applications.

Contribution

It introduces the study of static properties of Josephson junctions in a transverse magnetic field, highlighting the importance of geometry and demagnetization effects.

Findings

Transverse magnetic field effectively suppresses Josephson tunnel current.

Demagnetization effects significantly influence junction behavior.

Transverse field reduces Fiske resonances in practical devices.

Abstract

Traditionally, since the discovery of the Josephson effect in 1962, the magnetic diffraction pattern of planar Josephson tunnel junctions has been recorded with the field applied in the plane of the junction. Here we discuss the static junction properties in a transverse magnetic field where demagnetization effects imposed by the junction geometry and configuration of the electrodes are important. Measurements of the critical current versus magnetic field in planar Nb-based high-quality junctions with different geometry, size and critical current density show that it is advantageous to use a transverse magnetic field rather than an in-plane field to suppress the Josephson tunnel current and Fiske resonances in practical applications.