One-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) arrays of Al islands linked by submicron Al/Al[sub x]O[sub y]/Al tunnel junctions were fabricated on an insulating layer grown on a ground plane. The arrays were cooled to temperatures as low as 20 mK where the Josephson coupling energy E[sub J] of each junction and the charging energy E[sub C] of each island were much greater than the thermal energy k[sub B]T. The capacitance C[sub g] between each island and the ground plane was much greater than the junction capacitance C. Two classes of arrays were studied. In the first class, the normal state tunneling resistance of the junctions was much larger than the resistance quantum for single electrons, R[sub N][much-gt] R[sub Q[sub e]][identical-to] h/e[sup 2] [approx] 25.8 k[Omega], and the islands were driven normal by an applied magnetic field such that E[sub J] = 0 and the array was in the Coulomb blockade regime. The arrays were made on degenerately-doped Si, thermally oxidized to a thickness of approximately 100 nm. The current-voltage (I - V) characteristics of a 1D and a 2D array were measured and found to display a threshold voltage V[sub T] below which little current flows. In the second class of arrays, the normal state tunneling resistance of the junctions was close to the resistance quantum for Cooper pairs, R[sub N][approx]R[sub Q][equivalent-to]h/4e[sup 4][approx]6.45k[Omega], such that E[sub J]/E[sub C][approx]1. The arrays were made on GaAs/Al[sub 0.3]Ga[sub 0.7]As heterostructures with a two-dimensional electron gas approximately 100 nm below the surface. One array displayed superconducting behavior at low temperature. Two arrays displayed insulating behavior at low temperature, and the size of the Coulomb gap increased with increasing R[sub g].

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date description of the Josephson effect, a topic of never-ending interest in both fundamental and applied physics. In this volume, world-renowned experts present the unique aspects of the physics of the Josephson effect, resulting from the use of new materials, of hybrid architectures and from the possibility of realizing nanoscale junctions. These new experimental capabilities lead to systems where novel coherent phenomena and transport processes emerge. All this is of great relevance and impact, especially when combined with the didactic approach of the book. The reader will benefit from a general and modern view of coherent phenomena in weakly-coupled superconductors on a macroscopic scale. Topics that have been only recently discussed in specialized papers and in short reviews are described here for the first time and organized in a general framework. An important section of the book is also devoted to applications, with focus on long-term, future applications. In addition to a significant number of illustrations, the book includes numerous tables for comparative studies on technical aspects.