Flux-Tunable Josephson Diode Effect in a Hybrid Four-Terminal Josephson Junction

ACS Nano. 2024 Mar 26;18(12):9221-9231. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c01642. Epub 2024 Mar 15.

Abstract

We investigate the direction-dependent switching current in a flux-tunable four-terminal Josephson junction defined in an InAs/Al two-dimensional heterostructure. The device exhibits the Josephson diode effect with switching currents that depend on the sign of the bias current. The superconducting diode efficiency, reaching a maximum of |η| ≈ 34%, is widely tunable─both in amplitude and sign─as a function of magnetic fluxes and gate voltages. Our observations are supported by a circuit model of three parallel Josephson junctions with nonsinusoidal current-phase relation. With respect to conventional Josephson interferometers, phase-tunable multiterminal Josephson junctions enable large diode efficiencies in structurally symmetric devices, where local magnetic fluxes generated on the chip break both time-reversal and spatial symmetries. Our work presents an approach for developing Josephson diodes with wide-range tunability that do not rely on exotic materials.

Keywords: 2DEG; multiterminal Josephson junction; nonreciprocal transport; superconducting diode effect; superconductor−semiconductor hybrid.