Influence of external microwave radiation on transport characteristics of superconducting MoRe–Si(W)–MoRe junctions

Specific response of superconducting devices to electromagnetic radiation is a core phenomenon for various applications, ranging from the voltage standard to single photon detectors. One of such effects is the stimulation of the superconductivity itself by microwaves. In the work, we have investigated the impact of external microwave irradiation on the stair-step current-voltage characteristics of MoRe–Si(W)–MoRe Josephson junctions arisen due to phase-slip events in the studied samples. At frequencies above a threshold value, we have observed the stimulation effect that can be explained by a non-equilibrium redistribution of filled energy levels in W clusters. In conclusion, we discuss the main tasks for future research. (author)