Length-Scale Dependence of the Superconductor-to-Insulator Quantum Phase Transition in One Dimension

Edmond Chow; Per Delsing; David B. Haviland

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.204

Length-Scale Dependence of the Superconductor-to-Insulator Quantum Phase Transition in One Dimension

Edmond Chow, Per Delsing, and David B. Haviland

Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 204 – Published 6 July 1998

Abstract

One-dimensional (1D) arrays of small-capacitance Josephson junctions demonstrate a sharp transition, from Josephson-like behavior to the Coulomb blockade of Cooper-pair tunneling, as the effective Josephson coupling between nearest neighbors is tuned with an externally applied magnetic field. Comparing the zero-bias resistance of three arrays with 255, 127, and 63 junctions, we observe a critical behavior where the resistance, extrapolated to $T = 0$ , is independent of length at a critical magnetic field. Comparison is made with a theory of this $T = 0$ quantum phase transition, which maps to the 2D classical $XY$ model.