Dynamical Coulomb Blockade of Shot Noise

Abstract

We observe the suppression of the finite frequency shot noise produced by a voltage biased tunnel junction due to its interaction with a single electromagnetic mode of high impedance. The tunnel junction is embedded in a λ/4 resonator containing a dense SQUID array providing it with a characteristic impedance in the kΩ range and a resonant frequency tunable in the 4-6 GHz range. Such high impedance gives rise to a sizable Coulomb blockade on the tunnel junction ( 30% reduction in the differential conductance) and allows an efficient measurement of the spectral density of the current fluctuations at the resonator frequency. The observed blockade of shot noise is found in agreement with an extension of the dynamical Coulomb blockade theory.