Scanning gate microscopy imaging of the supercurrent distribution in a planar Josephson junction

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the mapping of the supercurrent distribution in a planar superconductor-normal-superconductor junction in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field via the scanning gate microscopy technique. We find that the change of the critical current induced by the scanning probe tip reflects the distribution of counter-propagating supercurrents aligned in Josephson vortices provided that the flux in the junction is set close to Fraunhofer pattern maxima. Instead, when the magnetic field drives the junction to a supercurrent minimum in the Fraunhofer pattern, the superconducting phase adapts, and the tip always increases the supercurrent. The perpendicular magnetic field leads to the formation of Josephson vortices, whose extension depends on the current circulation direction. We show that this leads to an asymmetric supercurrent distribution in the junction and that this can be revealed by scanning gate microscopy. We explain our findings on the basis of numerical calculations for both short-and long-junction limits and provide a semiclassical theory for the observed phenomena.