Relaxation of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in mesoscopic size superconductorsстатья
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 11 сентября 2018 г.
Аннотация:Rapid development of micro- and nanofabrication methods have provoked interest and
enabled experimental studies of electronic properties of a vast class of (sub)micrometer-size
solid state systems. Mesoscopic-size hybrid structures, containing superconducting elements,
have become interesting objects for basic research studies and various applications, ranging
from medical and astrophysical sensors to quantum computing. One of the most important
aspects of physics, governing the behavior of such systems, is the finite concentration of
nonequilibrium quasiparticles, present in a superconductor even well below the temperature
of superconducting transition. Those nonequilibrium excitations might limit the performance
of a variety of superconducting devices, like superconducting qubits, single-electron
turnstiles and microrefrigerators. On the contrary, in some applications, like detectors of
electromagnetic radiation, the nonequilibrium state is essential for their operation. It is
therefore of vital importance to study the mechanisms of nonequilibrium quasiparticle
relaxation in superconductors of mesoscopic dimensions, where the whole structure can be
considered as an ‘interface’. At early stages of research the problem was mostly studied in
relatively massive systems and at high temperatures close to the critical temperature of a
superconductor. We review the recent progress in studies of nonequilibrium quasiparticle
relaxation in superconductors including the low temperature limit. We also discuss the open
physical questions and perspectives of development in the field.