Recently, a research group led by Professor Liao Zhimin from the School of Physics at Peking University, in collaboration with Academician Yu Dapeng’s team from the Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, made a groundbreaking discovery: the quantized radio-frequency rectification effect in Josephson diodes. Their related findings were published in Nature Nanotechnology on January 30, 2026.

The Josephson junction serves as a crucial platform for exploring macroscopic quantum phenomena. The Josephson diode effect enables the unidirectional flow of superconducting current under both forward and reverse biases. However, there has been a notable research gap concerning its alternating-current (AC) characteristics.

In their experiment, the research team constructed a Josephson diode using the kagome superconductor CsV₃Sb₅. They observed that, even under a zero magnetic field, the diode exhibited non-reciprocal superconducting current transport properties. Furthermore, without any direct-current (DC) bias, it could generate a quantized DC voltage solely through microwave irradiation. The voltage values were integer multiples of hf/2e, achieving quantized radio-frequency rectification.

This effect stems from the device’s asymmetric response to forward and reverse currents. Under AC driving, phase particles accumulate and slip unidirectionally along the “tilted washboard potential,” effectively converting AC signals into quantized DC output.

This discovery not only sheds light on the intrinsic Josephson diode effect of CsV₃Sb₅ but also offers a promising platform for low-temperature wireless power sources and self-powered voltage standards. It is anticipated to play a pivotal role in various fields, including non-dissipative superconducting circuits, wireless charging of low-temperature quantum devices, high-precision measurement, and voltage standardization.