Josephson diode effect in nanowire-based Andreev molecules

Superconducting systems exhibit non-reciprocal current transport under certain conditions of symmetry breaking, a phenomenon known as the superconducting diode effect. This effect allows for perfect rectification of supercurrent, and has received considerable research interest. We report the observation of the Josephson diode effect (JDE) in nanowire-based Andreev molecules, where the time-reversal and spatial-inversion symmetries of a Josephson junction (JJ) can be nonlocally broken by coherently coupling to another JJ. The JDE can be controlled using both non-local phase and gate voltages. Notably, the non-local phase can induce a sign reversal of the diode efficiency, a manifestation of regulating the probabilities of double elastic cotunneling and double-crossed Andreev reflection. Additionally, the diode efficiency can be further modulated by local and non-local gate voltages, exhibiting a central-peak feature in the gate-voltage space. Our theoretical calculations of the energy spectrum and the Josephson currents align well with the experimental results. These results demonstrate the non-local regulation of the JDE in Andreev molecules, offering significant implications for the control of multi-JJ devices and the development of advanced superconducting devices. Two coherently coupled Josephson junctions known as the Andreev molecules are attracting much attention for its nonlocal controllability. In this paper, the authors report the experimental realization of the Josephson diode effect in a nanowire-based Andreev molecule, achieving its control by non-local phase, and local and non-local gate voltages.

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Journal
Communications Physics
Published
2025-08-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02237-4
Primary Topic
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Josephson diode effect in nanowire-based Andreev molecules

Dong Pan, Bingbing Tong, Enna Zhuo, Xiaozhou Yang et al.
Communications Physics
Topological Materials and Phenomena
article

Josephson diode effect in nanowire-based Andreev molecules

Dong Pan, Bingbing Tong, Enna Zhuo, Xiaozhou Yang, Ziwei Dou, Bo Lu, Jiezhong He, Guangtong Liu, Jiangbo He, Fanming Qu, Xiaohui Song, Zhaozheng Lyu, Zhongmou Jia, Min Wei, Jie Shen, Jianhua Zhao, Peiling Li, Xuewei Cao, Li Lü, Yunyun Ma, Yunjing Jiao, Shang Zhu
article en

Abstract

Superconducting systems exhibit non-reciprocal current transport under certain conditions of symmetry breaking, a phenomenon known as the superconducting diode effect. This effect allows for perfect rectification of supercurrent, and has received considerable research interest. We report the observation of the Josephson diode effect (JDE) in nanowire-based Andreev molecules, where the time-reversal and spatial-inversion symmetries of a Josephson junction (JJ) can be nonlocally broken by coherently coupling to another JJ. The JDE can be controlled using both non-local phase and gate voltages. Notably, the non-local phase can induce a sign reversal of the diode efficiency, a manifestation of regulating the probabilities of double elastic cotunneling and double-crossed Andreev reflection. Additionally, the diode efficiency can be further modulated by local and non-local gate voltages, exhibiting a central-peak feature in the gate-voltage space. Our theoretical calculations of the energy spectrum and the Josephson currents align well with the experimental results. These results demonstrate the non-local regulation of the JDE in Andreev molecules, offering significant implications for the control of multi-JJ devices and the development of advanced superconducting devices. Two coherently coupled Josephson junctions known as the Andreev molecules are attracting much attention for its nonlocal controllability. In this paper, the authors report the experimental realization of the Josephson diode effect in a nanowire-based Andreev molecule, achieving its control by non-local phase, and local and non-local gate voltages.

Communications PhysicsVol. 8(1)
Zhejiang International Studies University (CN), Tianjin University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Nankai University (CN), Hefei University (CN), Ministry of Education (IR), Institute of Semiconductors (CN), Institute of Physics (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Development and Reform Commission, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Youth Innovation Promotion Association
Openalex Percentile: Top 81%
Topological Materials and Phenomena
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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