Subgap Conductivity of a Superconducting-Normal Tunnel Interface

Abstract

At low temperatures, the transport through a superconducting-normal tunnel interface is due to tunneling of electrons in pairs. The probability for this process is shown to depend on the layout of the electrodes near the tunnel junction, rather than on properties of the tunnel barrier. This dependence is due to interference of the electron waves on a space scale determined by the coherence length, either in the normal or the superconducting metal. The approach developed allows us to evaluate the subgap current for different layouts of interest.