The results of a study of the superconducting state of very small diameter PbIn wires are described. The smallest samples, which had diameters below 200 A{}, exhibited significant dissipation at all temperatures below Tc. In addition, their voltage-current characteristics exhibited oscillatory structure, which became more pronounced as the temperature was decreased. These results are consistent with a model in which the phase of the order parameter is treated as a quantum degree of freedom. The observed behavior is then due to quantum tunneling of the order parameter, and the existence of discrete energy levels.
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Giordano et al. (1989) studied this question.
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