The non-equilibrium response of a superconductor to pair-breaking radiation measured over a broad frequency band
Creators
- 1. Kavli Institute of NanoScience, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft (Netherlands)
- 2. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Landleven 12, 9747AD Groningen (Netherlands)
- 3. Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom)
- 4. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Terahertz Sensing Group, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD Delft (Netherlands)
- 5. Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen (Netherlands)
- 6. Physics Department, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation)
- 7. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht (Netherlands)
Description
We have measured the absorption of terahertz radiation in a BCS superconductor over a broad range of frequencies from 200 GHz to 1.1 THz, using a broadband antenna-lens system and a tantalum microwave resonator. From low frequencies, the response of the resonator rises rapidly to a maximum at the gap edge of the superconductor. From there on, the response drops to half the maximum response at twice the pair-breaking energy. At higher frequencies, the response rises again due to trapping of pair-breaking phonons in the superconductor. In practice, this is a measurement of the frequency dependence of the quasiparticle creation efficiency due to pair-breaking in a superconductor. The efficiency, calculated from the different non-equilibrium quasiparticle distribution functions at each frequency, is in agreement with the measurements
Additional details
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1063/1.4923097;
- arXiv
- arXiv:1505.06191v1;
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Applied Physics Letters
- Journal Volume
- 106
- Journal Issue
- 25
- Journal Page Range
- p. 252602-252602.5
- ISSN
- 0003-6951
- CODEN
- APPLAB
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United States
- Country of Input or Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- INIS RN
- 47053075
- Subject category
- S71: CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS;
- Descriptors DEI
- ABSORPTION; DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS; EFFICIENCY; EQUILIBRIUM; FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE; GHZ RANGE 100-1000; LENSES; MICROWAVE RADIATION; PHONONS; RESONATORS; SUPERCONDUCTORS; TANTALUM; TRAPPING
- Descriptors DEC
- ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT; ELEMENTS; EQUIPMENT; FREQUENCY RANGE; FUNCTIONS; GHZ RANGE; METALS; QUASI PARTICLES; RADIATIONS; REFRACTORY METALS; SORPTION; TRANSITION ELEMENTS
Optional Information
- Notes
- (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC