A novel mechanism of asymmetric frequency conversion is investigated in nonlinear dispersive devices driven parametrically with a biharmonic pump. When the relative phase between the first and second harmonics combined in a two-tone pump is appropriately tuned, nonreciprocal frequency conversion, either upward or downward, can occur. Full directionality and efficiency of the conversion process ...

We report on the first realization of a single bosonic Josephson junction, implemented by two weakly linked Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential. In order to fully investigate the nonlinear tunneling dynamics we measure the density distribution in situ and deduce the evolution of the relative phase between the two condensates from interference fringes. Our results verify the pre...

We suggest a system in which the amplitude of macroscopic flux tunneling can be modulated via the Aharonov-Casher effect. The system is an rf SQUID with the Josephson junction replaced by a Bloch transistor--two junctions separated by a small superconducting island on which the charge can be induced by an external gate voltage. When the Josephson coupling energies of the junctions are equal and...

We show that nonlinear response of a quantum oscillator displays antiresonant dips and resonant peaks with varying frequency of the driving field. The effect is a consequence of special symmetry and is related to resonant multiphoton mixing of several pairs of oscillator states at a time. We also discuss escape from a metastable state of forced vibrations. Two important examples show that the p...

We investigate the Josephson coupling between two singlet superconductors separated by a half-metallic magnet. The mechanism behind the coupling is provided by the rotation of the quasiparticle spin in the superconductor during reflection events at the interface with the half metal. Spin rotation induces triplet correlations in the superconductor which, in the presence of surface spin-flip scat...

We describe an optical system that allows for direct observation of the photonic Josephson effects in two weakly linked microcavities containing ultracold two-level atoms. We show that, by moving the ultracold atoms within one cavity, we could simulate an analogous superconducting circuit and realize both the alternating- and direct-current (ac and dc) photonic Josephson effects. This provides ...

Arrays of nanoscale apertures have been found to exhibit fascinating quantum phenomena such as the Josephson effect and collective quantized phase-slippage. To be in the Josephson regime, the aperture size must be comparable to the healing length of the He order parameter. For 50nm apertures this regime is attained ∼mK below Tλ. Collective phase slippage occurs at considerably lower temperature...

Cryogenic characterization is a crucial part of understanding the behavior of lowtemperature quantum electronics. Reliable device testing provides the feedback to fabrication process development, facilitating the rapid development of quantum devices. The research presented in this thesis explores the cryogenic testing, analysis, and characterization of a superconducting quantum device, the Jose...

We present a theoretical study of inhomogeneous dynamic (resistive) states in a single plaquette consisting of three Josephson junctions. Resonant interactions of such a breather state with electromagnetic oscillations manifest themselves by resonant current steps and voltage jumps in the current-voltage characteristics. An externally applied magnetic field leads to a variation of the relative ...

The modulation with magnetic field of the sheet inductance measured on proximity effect Josephson-junction arrays (JJAs) is progressively vanishing on lowering the temperature, leading to a low-temperature field-independent response. This behaviour is consistent with the decrease of the two-dimensional penetration length below the lattice parameter. Low-temperature data are quantitatively compa...