Nanomechanics driven by the superconducting proximity effect

TL;DR

This paper explores how superconducting proximity effects induce self-sustained vibrations in a carbon nanotube-based nanoelectromechanical system, revealing a novel interplay between mechanical motion and superconducting electron tunneling.

Contribution

It introduces a model of a superconducting-nanotube system showing self-sustained vibrations driven by bias voltage, highlighting the influence of quantum dot level positioning.

Findings

Vibrations depend on bias voltage direction and quantum dot level position.

Vibrations significantly modulate the dc current.

The phenomenon can be observed experimentally through current measurements.

Abstract

We consider a nanoelectromechanical weak link composed of a carbon nanotube suspended above a trench in a normal metal electrode and positioned in a gap between two superconducting leads. The nanotube is treated as a movable single-level quantum dot in which the position-dependent superconducting order parameter is induced as a result of Cooper pair tunneling. We show that in such a system, self-sustained bending vibrations can emerge if a bias voltage is applied. The occurrence of this effect crucially depends on the direction of the bias voltage and the relative position of the quantum dot level. We also demonstrate that the nanotube vibrations strongly affect the dc current through the system, a characteristic that can be used for the direct experimental observation of the predicted phenomenon.