Control of switching between metastable superconducting states in δ-MoN nanowires

The superconducting state in one-dimensional nanosystems is very delicate. While fluctuations of the phase of the superconducting wave function lead to the spontaneous decay of persistent supercurrents in thin superconducting wires and nanocircuits, discrete phase-slip fluctuations can also lead to more exotic phenomena, such as the appearance of metastable superconducting states in current-bearing wires. Here we show that switching between different metastable superconducting states in δ-MoN nanowires can be very effectively manipulated by introducing small amplitude electrical noise. Furthermore, we show that deterministic switching between metastable superconducting states with different numbers of phase-slip centres can be achieved in both directions with small electrical current pulse perturbations of appropriate polarity. The observed current-controlled bi-stability is in remarkable agreement with theoretically predicted trajectories of the system switching between different limit cycle solutions of a model one-dimensional superconductor. Fluctuations of the phase of the superconducting wave function in one-dimensional nanosystems can lead to the appearance of metastable superconducting states. Here, the authors show that it is possible to manipulate the switching between such states by means of a small electrical noise in δ-MoN nanowires.