Nonlinear electrodynamics in layered superconductors

Received 5 December 2007; revised manuscript received 29 May 2008; published 15 July 2008 We analyze theoretically the effect of a weak nonlinearity on the propagation of Josephson plasma waves in layered superconductors. The nonlinearity originates from the Josephson relation between the current density across superconducting layers and gauge-invariant phase difference of the order parameter. We show that strong nonlinear effects can be observed for electromagnetic waves with frequency slightly above or slightly below the plasma frequency. We study the nonlinear plasma resonance accompanied by the hysteretic dependence of the wave amplitude on the frequency. This hysteresis transforms the continuous terahertz radiation into a series of short electromagnetic high-amplitude pulses. We also consider the propagation of a nonlinear terahertz beam localized in the direction across the superconducting layers. This phenomenon is an analog of the self-focusing effect in nonlinear optics. The nonlinear phenomena in layered superconductors considered here can be potentially useful for the design of a new generation of terahertz devices.

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