Origin of flux-flow resistance oscillations in Bi2 Sr2 Ca Cu2 O8+y: Possibility of Fiske steps in a single junction

Abstract

We propose an alternative explanation to the oscillations of the flux-flow resistance found in several previously published experiments with Bi2 Sr2 Ca Cu2 O8+y stacks. It has been argued by the previous authors that the period of the oscillations corresponding to the field needed to add one vortex per two intrinsic Josephson junctions is associated with a moving triangular lattice of vortices (out-of-phase mode), while the period corresponding to one vortex per one junction is due to the square lattice (in-phase mode). In contrast, we show that both type of oscillations may occur in a single-layer Josephson junction and thus the above interpretation is inconsistent. © 2005 The American Physical Society.