Abstract
The escape rate of an underdamped ($Q\ensuremath{\approx}30$), current-biased Josephson junction from the zero-voltage state has been measured. The relevant parameters of the junction were determined in situ in the thermal regime from the dependence of the escape rate on bias current and from resonant activation in the presence of microwaves. At low temperatures, the escape rate became independent of temperature with a value that, with no adjustable parameters, was in excellent agreement with the zero-temperature prediction for macroscopic quantum tunneling.
Keywords
Quantum tunnellingJosephson effectCondensed matter physicsPhysicsBiasingPi Josephson junctionCurrent (fluid)MicrowaveQuantumVoltageSuperconductivityQuantum mechanics
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Spectroscopy of Energy-Level Splitting between Two Macroscopic Quantum States of Charge Coherently Superposed by Josephson Coupling
We study Cooper-pair tunneling in a voltage-biased superconducting single-electron transistor under microwave irradiation. By tracing the peak positions of a photon-assisted Jos...
Measuring interactions between tunnel-coupled quantum dots
We report low-temperature tunneling measurements through double and triple quantum dots with adjustable interdot tunnel conductance, fabricated in a GaAs/${\mathrm{Al}}_{\mathit...
Single-Electron Charging in Double and Triple Quantum Dots with Tunable Coupling
We report low-temperature tunneling measurements at zero magnetic field through double and triple quantum dots with adjustable interdot coupling, fabricated in a GaAs/AlGaAs het...
Mesoscopic quantum transport: Resonant tunneling in the presence of a strong Coulomb interaction
Coulomb blockade phenomena and quantum fluctuations are studied in mesoscopic\nmetallic tunnel junctions with high charging energies. If the resistance of the\nbarriers is large...
Mechanism of electron conduction in self-assembled alkanethiol monolayer devices
Electron tunneling through self-assembled monolayers (SAM's) of alkanethiols is investigated using nanometer-scale devices. Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements ar...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1985
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 18
- Pages
- 1908-1911
- Citations
- 405
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
405
OpenAlex
Cite This
Michel Devoret,
John M. Martinis,
John Clarke
(1985).
Measurements of Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling out of the Zero-Voltage State of a Current-Biased Josephson Junction.
Physical Review Letters
, 55
(18)
, 1908-1911.
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.55.1908
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1103/physrevlett.55.1908