Voltage rectification effects in mesoscopic superconducting triangles: experiment and modelling

TL;DR

This study investigates voltage rectification in mesoscopic superconducting triangles, demonstrating how contact configuration influences the rectified signal and its oscillations, aligning experimental results with Josephson junction models.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence and modeling of voltage rectification effects in mesoscopic superconducting triangles, highlighting the impact of contact placement on the rectified signal.

Findings

Rectification amplitude depends on contact configuration.

Off-centered contacts induce oscillations in voltage response.

Sign of voltage oscillations can be controlled by contact position.

Abstract

The interaction of externally applied currents with persistent currents induced by magnetic field in a mesoscopic triangle is investigated. As a consequence of the superposition of these currents, clear voltage rectification effects are observed. We demonstrate that the amplitude of the rectified signal strongly depends on the configurations of the current leads with the lowest signal obtained when the contacts are aligned along a median of the triangle. When the contacts are aligned off-centered compared to the geometrical center, the voltage response shows oscillations as a function of the applied field, whose sign can be controlled by shifting the contacts. These results are in full agreement with theoretical predictions for an analogous system consisting of a closed loop with a finite number of identical Josephson junctions.