Leiden University Student Repository

Stam, Guido (2020)

Shapiro steps in spontaneous Josephson junctions due to domain configuration of mesoscopic Sr2RuO4

Master thesis | Physics (MSc)

The pairing symmetry of the superconducting material Strontium Ruthenate (Sr2RuO4), despite much research, has not been established. The experimental evidence until now points to a pairing symmetry compatible with the existence of superconducting domains. The boundaries of these domains are expected to act as Josephson junctions. Although bulk samples contain a random and non-predictable domain structure, mesoscopic samples feature a controllable configuration of the domains. The behavior of singly or doubly presupposed connected domain boundary is investigated by the electronic transport properties of mesoscopic samples of Sr2RuO4, in which the domain walls are pinned to the geometry. The characteristic critical current oscillations and Shapiro steps of the Josephson junction are established, as well as current switchable states due to in-plane (IP) fields.

Sr2RuO4

unconventional superconductivity

Josephson junctions

Shapiro steps

superconducting domains

Author

Stam, Guido

Faculty

Faculty of Science

Specialisation

MSc Physics

Supervisors

Aarts, Jan

ECTS Credits

24

Language

en