Effects of anharmonicity of current-phase relation in Josephson junctions

The aim of this review is the analysis of dynamical properties of Josephson junctions (JJ) with anharmonic current-phase relation (CPR). Firstly, discussion of theoretical foundation of anharmonic CPR in different Josephson structures and their experimental observation are presented. The influence of anisotropy and multiband effects on CPR of JJ are analyzed. We present recent theoretical study results of the anharmonic CPR influence on I-V curve, plasma frequency, and dynamics of long JJ. Results of study of Shapiro steps in I-V curve of anharmonic JJ are also presented. Finally, CPR anharmonicity effect on characteristics of JJ-based qubits is discussed. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.