Voltage-induced Shapiro steps in a superconducting multi-terminal structure

Abstract

When a superconducting tunnel junction at a finite voltage is irradiated with microwaves, the interplay between the alternating Josephson current and the ac field gives rise to steps in the dc current known as Shapiro steps. In this work we predict that in a mesoscopic structure connected to several superconducting terminals one can induce Shapiro-like steps in the absence of any external radiation simply by tuning the voltages of the leads. To illustrate this effect we make quantitative predictions for a three-terminal structure which comprises a diffusive superconductor-normal metal-superconductor junction and a tunneling probe, a set-up which can be realized experimentally.