Colloquium 148

Title: Single-fluxon controlled Resistance Switching in a Nanowire

Speaker: Moses Chan, Penn State University

Location: Room 111, Physics Building

Time: 15:00-16:00, Wed, May 7, 2014

Abstract:
The ability to manipulate a single quantum object, such as a single electron or a single spin, to induce a change in a macroscopic observable lies at the heart of nanodevices of the future. Here I report an experimental geometry wherein a single superconducting fluxon can be exploited to switch the resistance of a nanowire between two discrete values. Specifically, we study centimeter-long nanowires of superconducting Ga-In eutectic and observe a hysteretic resistance switching in the presence of a magnetic field. The nonzero resistance occurs when a Ga nanodroplet spontaneously formed along the length of the nanowire traps one or more superconducting fluxons, thereby driving a Josephson weak-link created by a second nearby Ga nanodroplet normal. This experiment opens the possibility of developing single-fluxon logic and memory devices.