Efficient Peltier refrigeration by a pair of normal metal/insulator/superconductor junctions

Leivo, Mikko; Pekola, Jukka P.; Averin, D. V.

doi:10.1063/1.115651

Cited by 263 publications

(238 citation statements)

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confidence: 99%

“…[12][13][14][15] At low temperatures k B T and for bias voltages eV across the junction, the electrons in the N electrode cool considerably below the phonon temperature by hot QP extraction. The effect can be made to be more pronounced in a symmetric double-junction SINIS structure with a small N island contacted to S leads via two NIS junctions, 15 allowing to construct practical solid-state refrigerators for cooling thin-film detectors to temperatures close to 100 mK. 16,17 The performance of actual devices depends crucially on the relaxation of the QPs that are injected into the S electrode, as the superconductor overheating diminishes the cooling power at a NIS junction because of enhanced QP backtunneling.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Magnetic-field-induced stabilization of nonequilibrium superconductivity in a normal-metal/insulator/superconductor junction

Peltonen¹,

Muhonen

Meschke³

et al. 2011

Phys. Rev. B

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A small magnetic field is found to enhance relaxation processes in a superconductor, thus stabilizing superconductivity in nonequilibrium conditions. In a normal-metal (N)/insulator/superconductor (S) tunnel junction, applying a field of the order of 100 μT leads to significantly improved cooling of the N island by quasiparticle (QP) tunneling. These findings are attributed to faster QP relaxation within the S electrodes as a result of enhanced QP drain through regions with a locally suppressed energy gap due to magnetic vortices in the S leads at some distance from the junction. Introduction. In this Rapid Communication, we report an observation that appears counterintuitive at first: A small magnetic field is found to stabilize superconductivity under quasiparticle (QP) injection. In our experiment, the cooling power of normal-metal (N)/insulator (I)/superconductor (S) tunnel structures is enhanced in perpendicular magnetic fields B ⊥ 100 μT = 1 G. A measured maximum temperature drop δT relative to a starting bath temperature T 0 = 285 mK exhibiting this behavior is shown in Fig. 1(a). The improvement is unexpected, as in general the effect of a magnetic field is to suppress superconductivity. Electronic cooling in NIS junctions in the presence of magnetic fields in both perpendicular and parallel orientations has been studied before, 1 but only in higher fields where the cooling power was already reduced due to a diminishing superconducting energy gap . On the other hand, the creation of magnetic vortices 2 has been shown to enhance QP relaxation in superconducting aluminum, as the QPs become trapped and thermalize in the regions of a reduced energy gap. 3 Here we demonstrate that the additional relaxation channel due to an enhanced QP drain through regions occupied by magnetic vortices enhances the superconducting performance of S leads and improves the electronic cooling in NIS junctions. This can be of relevance in superconducting qubits, 4-7 resonators, 8 and in hybrid SINIS turnstiles 9 in reducing the effects from nonequilibrium and residual QPs arising due to drive and microwave radiation from the environment. Moreover, improved relaxation caused by vortex creation in the S leads can partially explain the "reentrant superconductivity" observed in Zn and Al nanowires. 10,11 In the present case, as sketched in Fig. 1(a), vortex formation in the S electrodes away from the NIS junction improves relaxation of the injected QPs and leads to enhanced cooling of the N island. In higher fields, vortices move closer to the junction, deteriorating the cooling power.In a NIS junction, acts as an energy filter for the tunneling QP. [12][13][14][15] At low temperatures k B T and for bias voltages eV across the junction, the electrons in the N electrode cool considerably below the phonon temperature by hot QP extraction. The effect can be made to be more pronounced in a symmetric double-junction SINIS structure with a small N

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Magnetic-field-induced stabilization of nonequilibrium superconductivity in a normal-metal/insulator/superconductor junction

Peltonen¹,

Muhonen

Meschke³

et al. 2011

Phys. Rev. B

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“…It may be noted that many cryogenic ballistic refrigerators such as normal-insulating-semiconductor ͑NIS͒ junction devices [32][33][34] and quantum dot refrigerators 35 utilize either two-or one-dimensional reservoirs where the difference between k x and k r filtered devices is less dramatic or nonexistent.…”

Section: ͑7͒mentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic efficiency in nanostructured thermionic and thermoelectric devices

et al. 2005

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Advances in solid-state device design now allow the spectrum of transmitted electrons in thermionic and thermoelectric devices to be engineered in ways that were not previously possible. Here we show that the shape of the electron energy spectrum in these devices has a significant impact on their performance. We distinguish between traditional thermionic devices where electron momentum is filtered in the direction of transport only and a second type, in which the electron filtering occurs according to total electron momentum. Such "total momentum filtered" thermionic devices could potentially be implemented in, for example, quantum dot superlattices. It is shown that whilst total momentum filtered thermionic devices may achieve an efficiency equal to the Carnot value, traditional thermionic devices are limited to an efficiency below this. Our second main result is that the electronic efficiency of a device is not only improved by reducing the width of the transmission filter as has previously been shown, but also strongly depends on whether the transmission probability rises sharply from zero to full transmission. The benefit of increasing efficiency through a sharply rising transmission probability is that it can be achieved without sacrificing device power, in contrast to the use of a narrow transmission filter which can greatly reduce power. We show that devices that have a sharply rising transmission probability significantly outperform those that do not and that such transmission probabilities may be achieved with practical single and multibarrier devices. We discuss how the shape of the electron energy spectrum will also have an effect on the electronic efficiency of thermoelectric devices due to mathematical equivalences in the ballistic and diffusive formalisms. Finally, we present an experimental measure that might be used to provide an indication of the nature of the electron energy spectrum and the electronic efficiency of a ballistic device.

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“…͑3.1͒ corresponds to back-tunneling and, in the previous literature, has not been included. 2,4,5 It introduces a dependence of P c,el on N s and thus on T s . bt is the average time for backtunneling.…”

Section: Microcooler -Nis Junction In Equilibriummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the normal electrode temperature can be reduced below that of the substrate; this effect has been demonstrated for small junctions. 4,5 The cooling would increase the sensitivity of a detector junction. It could also be used to refrigerate other devices, i.e., to create microcoolers with no moving parts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the power flow in normal conductor-insulator-superconductor junctions

Jochum¹,

Mears

Golwala³

et al. 1998

Journal of Applied Physics

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Normal conductor-insulator-superconductor ͑NIS͒ junctions promise to be interesting for x-ray and phonon sensing applications, in particular due to the expected self-cooling of the N electrode by the tunneling current. Such cooling would enable the operation of the active element of the sensor below the cryostat temperature and at a correspondingly higher sensitivity. It would also allow the use of NIS junctions as microcoolers. At present, this cooling has not been realized in large area junctions ͑suitable for a number of detector applications͒. In this article, we discuss a detailed modeling of the heat flow in such junctions; we show how the heat flow into the normal electrode by quasiparticle back-tunneling and phonon absorption from quasiparticle pair recombination can overcompensate the cooling power. This provides a microscopic explanation of the self-heating effects we observe in our large area NIS junctions. The model suggests a number of possible solutions.

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Efficient Peltier refrigeration by a pair of normal metal/insulator/superconductor junctions

Cited by 263 publications

References 8 publications

Magnetic-field-induced stabilization of nonequilibrium superconductivity in a normal-metal/insulator/superconductor junction

Magnetic-field-induced stabilization of nonequilibrium superconductivity in a normal-metal/insulator/superconductor junction

Electronic efficiency in nanostructured thermionic and thermoelectric devices

Modeling the power flow in normal conductor-insulator-superconductor junctions

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