Cooper-pair resonances and subgap Coulomb blockade in a superconducting single-electron transistor

Abstract

We have fabricated and measured superconducting single-electron transistors with Al leads and Nb islands. At bias voltages below the gap of Nb we observe clear signatures of resonant tunneling of Cooper pairs, and of Coulomb blockade of the subgap currents due to linewidth broadening of the energy levels in the superconducting density of states of Nb. The experimental results are in good agreement with numerical simulations.