Excess conductance in normal-metal/superconductor junctions

Abstract

The current-voltage characteristics of Au/InOx/Pb tunnel junctions exhibit peculiar zero-bias anomalies. At low temperature the zero-bias resistance attains values that are smaller than the normal state resistance by a factor that often esceeds 2. The width of this anomaly increases with the thickness of the InOx layer. The possibility that these features arise from the nature of the barrier being an Anderson insulator is discussed.