In 1962 Brian Josephson published his inaugural paper predicting the effect as Section "Possible new effects in superconductive tunnelling".
In 1963 Philip W. Anderson and John M. Rowell published their paper that first observed the effect as Section "Possible new effects in superconductive tunnelling".
Some golden notes can be found at True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen page 224 and around. Philip W. Anderson commented:
Discrete quantum effect observed in superconductors with a small insulating layer, a device known as a Josephson junction.
To understand the behaviour effect, it is important to look at the Josephson equations consider the following Josephson effect regimes separately:
Bibliography:
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnZ6exn2CkE "Superconductivity: Professor Brian Josephson". Several random excerpts from Cambridge people talking about the Josephson effect
Two equations derived from first principles by Brian Josephson that characterize the device, somewhat like an I-V curve:where:
- : Josephson current
- : the Josephson phase, a function defined by the second equation plus initial conditions
- : input voltage of the system
- : current across the junction, determined by the input voltage
Note how these equations are not a typical I-V curve, as they are not an instantaneous dependency between voltage and current: the history of the voltage matters! Or in other words, the system has an internal state, represented by the Josephson phase at a given point in time.
To understand them better, it is important to look at some important cases separately:
- AC Josephson effect: V is a fixed DC voltage