We study the response of high-critical current proximity Josephson junctions to a microwave excitation. Electron over-heating in such devices is known to create hysteretic dc voltage-current characteristics. Here we demonstrate that it also strongly influences the ac response. The interplay of electron over-heating and ac Josephson dynamics is revealed by the evolution of the Shapiro steps with the microwave drive amplitude. Extending the resistively shunted Josephson junction model by including a thermal balance for the electronic bath coupled to phonons, a strong electron over-heating is obtained.
@article{arxiv.1601.04434,
title = {Interplay Between Electron Over-Heating and ac Josephson Effect},
author = {Alessandro De Cecco and Kévin Le Calvez and Benjamin Sacépé and Clemens Winkelmann and Hervé Courtois},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1601.04434},
year = {2016}
}