Intrinsic Non-linearity of Josephson Junctions as an Alternative Origin of the Missing First Shapiro Step
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866908606865080320 |
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| author | Xu, Lei Mai, Shuhang Xu, Manzhang Yang, Xue Hu, Lihong Zheng, Xinyi Zhou, Sicheng Zhou, Siyuan Tong, Bingbing Song, Xiaohui Shen, Jie Lyu, Zhaozheng Dou, Ziwei Jing, Xiunian Qu, Fanming Li, Peiling Liu, Guangtong Lu, Li |
| author_facet | Xu, Lei Mai, Shuhang Xu, Manzhang Yang, Xue Hu, Lihong Zheng, Xinyi Zhou, Sicheng Zhou, Siyuan Tong, Bingbing Song, Xiaohui Shen, Jie Lyu, Zhaozheng Dou, Ziwei Jing, Xiunian Qu, Fanming Li, Peiling Liu, Guangtong Lu, Li |
| contents | The missing first Shapiro step in microwave-irradiated Josephson junctions has been widely interpreted as a hallmark of Majorana bound states. However, conventional mechanisms like junction underdamping or Joule heating can produce similar signatures. Here, we demonstrate that the intrinsic non-linear current-voltage characteristic of low-to-moderate transparency junctions can also suppress the first step, accompanied by distinctive zigzag boundaries between the zeroth and first step at intermediate driving frequencies. Microwave measurements on Al/WTe2 junctions and numerical simulations of a non-linear resistively and capacitively shunted junction model reveal the first step collapse induced by switching jumps of current, together with zigzag features absent in scenarios solely driven by finite \b{eta} or Joule heating. This zigzag signature therefore provides a crucial diagnostic tool, emphasizing the necessity of comprehensive analysis of microwave spectra before attributing the absence of the first Shapiro step to Majorana physics. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_20130 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Intrinsic Non-linearity of Josephson Junctions as an Alternative Origin of the Missing First Shapiro Step Xu, Lei Mai, Shuhang Xu, Manzhang Yang, Xue Hu, Lihong Zheng, Xinyi Zhou, Sicheng Zhou, Siyuan Tong, Bingbing Song, Xiaohui Shen, Jie Lyu, Zhaozheng Dou, Ziwei Jing, Xiunian Qu, Fanming Li, Peiling Liu, Guangtong Lu, Li Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics The missing first Shapiro step in microwave-irradiated Josephson junctions has been widely interpreted as a hallmark of Majorana bound states. However, conventional mechanisms like junction underdamping or Joule heating can produce similar signatures. Here, we demonstrate that the intrinsic non-linear current-voltage characteristic of low-to-moderate transparency junctions can also suppress the first step, accompanied by distinctive zigzag boundaries between the zeroth and first step at intermediate driving frequencies. Microwave measurements on Al/WTe2 junctions and numerical simulations of a non-linear resistively and capacitively shunted junction model reveal the first step collapse induced by switching jumps of current, together with zigzag features absent in scenarios solely driven by finite \b{eta} or Joule heating. This zigzag signature therefore provides a crucial diagnostic tool, emphasizing the necessity of comprehensive analysis of microwave spectra before attributing the absence of the first Shapiro step to Majorana physics. |
| title | Intrinsic Non-linearity of Josephson Junctions as an Alternative Origin of the Missing First Shapiro Step |
| topic | Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20130 |