Abstract
A coherent two-level system can be constructed in an ultrasmall Josephson-junction circuit, where two charge states are coupled by single Cooper-pair tunneling. To investigate coherence and decoherence in the two-level system, we have measured dc current through a voltage-biased superconducting single-electron transistor. Under microwave irradiation, a current due to photon-assisted Cooper-pair tunneling is induced, which serves as a useful experimental tool for spectroscopic study of the energy levels in the two-level system. We observed energy-level splitting, which is evidence of the coherent superposition of the two charge states.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
A. J. Leggett, in Chance and Matter, J. Souletie, J. Vannimenus, and R. Stora, eds. (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1987), p. 395.
P. Lafarge, P. Joyez, D. Esteve, C. Urbina, and M. H. Devoret, Nature 365, 422 (1993).
V. Bouchiat, D. Vion, D. Esteve, and M. H. Devoret, in Quantum Devices and Circuits, K. Ismail, S. Bandyopadhyay, and J. P. Leburton, eds. (Imperial College Press, London, 1997), p. 204.
L. S. Kuzmin and D. B. Haviland, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 2890 (1991).
P. Joyez, P. Lafarge, A. Filipe, D. Esteve, and M. H. Devoret, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2458 (1994).
Y. Nakamura, C. D. Chen, and J. S. Tsai, Czech. J. Phys. 46, 2301 (1996).
Y. Nakamura, C. D. Chen, and J. S. Tsai, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2328 (1997).
D. J. Flees, S. Han, and J. E. Lukens, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4817 (1997).
T. A. Fulton, P. L. Gammel, D. J. Bishop, L. N. Dunkleberger, and G. J. Dolan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 1307 (1989).
D. V. Averin and V. Ya. Aleshkin, JETP Lett. 50, 367 (1989); V. Ya. Aleshkin and D. V. Averin, Physica B 165 & 166, 949 (1990).
T. H. Stoof and Yu. V. Nazarov, Phys. Rev. B 53, 1050 (1996). Although the theory proposed in the article concerns the photon-assisted tunneling current in coupled quantum dots, it is readily applicable to the PAJQP current in our system.
C. A. Stafford and N. S. Wingreen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1916 (1996).
F. W. J. Hekking, L. I. Glazman, and G. Schön, Phys. Rev. B 51, 15132 (1995).
V. Ambegaokar and A. Baratoff, Phys. Rev. Lett. 10, 486 (1963); Phys. Rev. Lett. 11, 104(E) (1963).
P. K. Tien and J. P. Gordon, Phys. Rev. 129, 647 (1963).
A. N. Korotkov, D. V. Averin, and K. K. Likharev, Phys. Rev. B 49, 7548 (1994).
A. H. Dayem and R. J. Martin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 8, 246 (1962).
M. T. Tuominen, J. M. Hergenrother, T. S. Tighe, and M. Tinkham, Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 1997 (1992).
G. Schön and A. D. Zaikin, Europhys. Lett. 26, 695 (1994).
T. Holst, D. Esteve, C. Urbina, and M. H. Devoret, Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 3455 (1994).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nakamura, Y., Tsai, J.S. A Coherent Two-Level System in a Superconducting Single-Electron Transistor Observed Through Photon-Assisted Cooper-Pair Tunneling. Journal of Superconductivity 12, 799–806 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007793228293
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007793228293