We report the results of several nonequilibrium experiments performed on superconducting/normal/superconducting (S/N/S) Josephson junctions containing either one or two extra terminals that connect to normal reservoirs. Currents injected into the junctions from the normal reservoirs induce changes in the electron energy distribution function, which can change the properties of the junction. A simple experiment performed on a three-terminal sample demonstrates that quasiparticle current and supercurrent can coexist in the normal region of the S/N/S junction. When larger voltages are applied to the normal reservoir, the sign of the current-phase relation of the junction can be reversed, creating a “$\pi$ junction.” We compare quantitatively the maximum critical currents obtained in four-terminal $\pi$ junctions when the voltages on the normal reservoirs have the same or opposite sign with respect to the superconductors. We discuss the challenges involved in creating a “Zeeman” $\pi$ junction with a parallel applied magnetic field and show in detail how the orbital effect suppresses the critical current. Finally, when normal current and supercurrent are simultaneously present in the junction, the distribution function develops a spatially inhomogeneous component that can be interpreted as an effective temperature gradient across the junction, with a sign that is controllable by the supercurrent. Taken as a whole, these experiments illustrate the richness and complexity of S/N/S Josephson junctions in nonequilibrium situations.

• Received 21 August 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.77.014528