| The subject of this thesis is an investigation of tunneling across high temperature superconductor Josephson junctions. Josephson junctions with d x2-y2-wave, extended s+dx2-y2-wave, and extended s+id x2-y2-wave order parameter symmetries are investigated. The voltage and temperature dependence of both the quasiparticle and Josephson current are calculated. Contributions for elastic and inelastic tunneling are included. A model for the spin-fluctuation spectral weight that determines the energy distribution of spin-fluctuation emitted in resulting inelastic tunneling is used which includes the spin gap feature resulting from superconducting feedback effects. Phonon mediated inelastic tunneling is also investigated. An electronic bandstructure, appropriate to high temperature superconductors, is used and the important role of directional tunneling in both elastic and inelastic tunneling channels is explored. |
