Phase-sticking in one-dimensional Josephson Junction Chains

We studied current-voltage characteristics of long one dimensional Josephson junction chains with Josephson energy much larger than charging energy, $E_J \gg E_C$. In this regime, typical IV curves of the samples consist of a supercurrent branch at low bias voltages followed by a voltage-independent chain current branch, $I_{Chain}$ at high bias. Our experiments showed that $I_{Chain}$ is not only voltage-independent but it is also practically temperature-independent up to $T_C$. We have successfully model the transport properties in these chains using a capacitively shunted junction model with nonlinear damping.