Abstract
The manifestation of spin-orbit interactions, long known to dramatically affect the band structure of heavy-element compounds, governs the physics in the surging class of topological matter. A particular example is found in the new family of topological crystalline insulators. In this systems transport occurs at the surfaces and spin-momentum locking yields crystal-symmetry protected spin-polarized transport. We investigated the current-phase relation of SnTe thin films connected to superconducting electrodes to form SQUID devices. Our results demonstrate that an assisting in-plane magnetic field component can induce 0-π-transitions. We attribute these findings to giant g-factors and large spin-orbit coupling of SnTe topological crystalline insulator, which provides a new platform for investigation of the interplay between spin-orbit physics and topological transport.
Highlights
Topological states of matter are researched in a large variety, ranging from 1D nanowire systems with strong spin-orbit coupling[1,2] over 2D quantum spin Hall insulators[3,4] to 3D topological insulators[5,6,7] as the most common examples of this quickly emerging field
It is well established that the current-phase relationship (CPR) of a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junction is sinusoidal in nature, following IJ(φ) = Ic sin(φ), which expresses itself as vanishing supercurrent and a non-degenerate minimum of the Josephson energy at φ = 0
We build upon our previous experimental work on SQUIDs made of two thin film (001)-textured SnTe Topological crystalline insulators (TCI) Josephson junctions coupled to superconducting electrodes[24]
Summary
Topological states of matter are researched in a large variety, ranging from 1D nanowire systems with strong spin-orbit coupling[1,2] over 2D quantum spin Hall insulators[3,4] to 3D topological insulators[5,6,7] as the most common examples of this quickly emerging field. The scope of possible effects in such structure, related to unconventional pairing and phase relations, has been recently extended because of a more complete picture of the role of spin-orbit coupling in low-dimensional electron systems, most notable the similarities between Rashba-type spin splitting[15] and topological spin-momentum locking In this context, the impact of Zeeman fields has been used as a driving force between trivial and unconventional regimes in theoretical proposals[16,17,18] as well as experimental demonstrations[19,20,21]. Applied magnetic fields have significant impact on materials with strong spin-orbit interaction and can induce finite Cooper pair momentum The tuning of the latter causes phase shifts of each Josephson junction[17,18,19,21,32,33,34]
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