Transport properties of a superconducting NbN nanowire are studied experimentally and theoretically. Different attached leads (superconducting contacts) allowed us to measure current-voltage $\left(I\text{−}V\right)$ characteristics of different segments of the wire independently. The experimental results show that with increasing the length of the segment the number of jumps in the $I\text{−}V$ curve increases indicating an increasing number of phase-slip phenomena. The system shows a clear hysteresis in the direction of the current sweep, the size of which depends on the length of the superconducting segment. The interpretation of the experimental results is supported by theoretical simulations that are based on the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, the heat equation has been included in the Ginzbur-Landau theory.

• Received 15 July 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.78.214519