Dynamic behavior of Josephson tunnel junctions in the subnanosecond range

Transitions from the zero-voltage to the voltage state have been directly measured on large (≃104 μm2) Josephson junctions. By adjusting the current load, the switching times (10–90%) were varied from 60 to 400 psec. Good agreement was found between theoretical and experimental results. The times required to transfer current from junctions into superconductive inductances (10−11−10−10 H) were also investigated. The switching times ranged from 300 to 550 psec and agreed basically with our simple theoretical model. To explain the details of the voltage developed during current transfer, self-pumped junction resonances had to be invoked. Although these times are expected to be smaller in miniaturized devices, they represent to our knowledge the shortest times ever reported for circuits with a dissipation of less than 10−5 W in continuous operation.