Resonant phase escape in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ surface intrinsic Josephson junctions

Abstract

We present a study of phase escape in surface Bi _2 Sr _2 CaCu _2 O _8+ _δ intrinsic Josephson junctions in the presence of microwave radiation. The measured switching current distributions display clear double-peak structures in the microwave field, which result from the single- and two-photon resonant escape processes accompanied by microwave-induced potential barrier suppression. We show that these results can be well explained by a quantum-mechanical model proposed by Fistul et al (2003 Phys. Rev. B 68 060504), from which the power and frequency dependences of the switching current distributions can be reproduced.