Shapiro Step at Nonequilibrium Conditions

Abstract

Detailed numerical simulations of intrinsic Josephson junctions of high temperature superconductors under external electromagnetic radiation are performed taking into account a charge imbalance effect. We demonstrate that the charge imbalance is responsible for a slope in the Shapiro step the value of which increases with a nonequilibrium parameter. Coupling between junctions leads to the distribution of the slope's values along the stack. The nonperiodic boundary conditions shift the Shapiro step in IV-characteristics from the canonical position determined by $V_{ss}=\hbar f /(2e)$, where $f$ is a frequency of external radiation. This fact makes ambiguous the interpretation of the experimentally found Shapiro step shift by the charge imbalance effect.