DYNAMICS OF A RING WITH 3 JOSEPHSON-JUNCTIONS

Tile dynamics of a current biased superconducting ring with three Jose phson junctions is investigated theoretically. For suitable magnetic f rustration, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic shows a surprisin g series of cusps. This feature, as well as the critical current, are discussed in detail, and explained using an extension of the familiar ''tilted washboard'' model. The stability of the new structure in the I-V curves against changes of various parameters is studied, An estima te shows that experimental observation should be feasible. (C) 1996 Am erican Institute of Physics.