PROXIMITY EFFECT AND CHARGING IN MESOSCOPIC NORMAL-METAL-SUPERCONDUCTOR JUNCTION SYSTEMS

Charging effects in mesoscopic junctions suppress the tunneling of ele ctrons. In normal-metal-superconductor systems they also suppress the proximity effect, thereby revealing the nature of the microscopic proc esses and of the ground state of the system. The effect can be made vi sible since the charging and proximity effect and hence the transport properties of the system can be modulated by gate voltages. If the sup erconducting electrode is isolated, electron number parity effects lea d to an even-odd asymmetry in the proximity effect.