Josephson effect with heavy-fermion superconductors

Metallic junctions of the heavy-fermion superconductors strongly suppress t he Josephson effect,, possibly indicating an unconventional type of superco nductivity. Junctions with classical superconductors like cadmium can also have a reduced critical current I-c, a result of quantum fluctuations of th e Josephson plasma due to a small dynamic capacitance. Applying this scenar io to heavy-fermion superconductors reveals an intrinsic I-c underestimated by an order of magnitude. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.