# Optical control of the current-voltage relation in stacked superconductors

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how external laser fields can be used to control the current-voltage behavior in layered superconductors modeled as coupled Josephson junctions, revealing potential for optical manipulation of superconducting properties.

## Contribution

It introduces a simulation framework for optically controlling supercurrents and phase-locked states in stacked Josephson junctions, highlighting new ways to manipulate superconducting systems with light.

## Key findings

- Supercurrents can be stabilized against thermal phase slips.
- Phase-locked states persist despite thermal fluctuations.
- Optical nonlinearities of Josephson plasmons enable material property control.

## Abstract

We simulate the current-voltage relation of short layered superconductors, which we model as stacks of capacitively coupled Josephson junctions. The system is driven by external laser fields, in order to optically control the voltage drop across the junction. We identify parameter regimes in which supercurrents can be stabilised against thermally induced phase slips, thus reducing the effective voltage across the superconductor. Furthermore, single driven Josephson junctions are known to exhibit phase-locked states, where the superconducting phase is locked to the driving field. We numerically observe their persistence in the presence of thermal fluctuations and capacitive coupling between adjacent Josephson junctions. Our results indicate how macroscopic material properties can be manipulated by exploiting the large optical nonlinearities of Josephson plasmons.