Magnetic Field Induced Superconductivity in Out-of-Equilibrium Nanowires

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that applying small magnetic fields can induce superconductivity in resistive Zn nanowires out of equilibrium, revealing a novel magnetic field effect on superconducting states.

Contribution

It reports a new phenomenon where magnetic fields restore superconductivity in resistive nanowires, differing from previous observations of magnetoresistance effects.

Findings

Magnetic fields induce superconductivity in resistive nanowires.

The effect is linked to damping phase slip processes.

Observations differ from prior nanowire experiments.

Abstract

Four-terminal resistance measurements have been carried out on Zn nanowires formed using electron-beam lithography. When driven resistive by current, these wires re-enter the superconducting state upon application of small magnetic fields. The data are qualitatively different from those of previous experiments on superconducting nanowires, which revealed either negative magnetoresistance near T_{c} or magnetic field enhanced critical currents. We suggest that our observations are associated with the damping of phase slip processes by the enhancement of dissipation by the quasiparticle conductance channel resulting from the application of a magnetic field.