I-V characteristic of a single intrinsic tunnel junction on Bi-2223 thin film

We report the successful fabrication of a single intrinsic Josephson junction on a (Bi,Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin film and investigate the current-voltage characteristics. Mesa structures are fabricated on the smooth surface of a high-quality thin film. The current-voltage characteristic along the c-axis shows a large distinct hysteresis and the superconducting gap edge structure. The estimated gap is about 75 mV at 4.2 K and is comparable with results of scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The obtained current-voltage curve is explained quite well by assuming d-wave symmetry for the superconducting order parameter neglecting nonequilibrium effects. We have observed voltage steps in the current-voltage characteristic induced by microwave irradiation. The voltage step shifts to higher voltages with increasing irradiation power. It is proposed that this behaviour is caused by fluxon motion.