Normal Metal Electrodes Research Articles

Transport of non-equilibrium quasiparticle excitations in superconducting aluminum

The electron transport of non-equilibrium quasiparticles injected into superconducting aluminum from a normal metal has been experimentally studied at ultralow temperatures. We studied hybrid nanostructures in the form of a T-shaped normal metal electrode (copper) – a dielectric tunnel layer (aluminum oxide) – a superconducting fork (aluminum), which can be considered as a solid-state analogues of a two-beam optical interferometer. At fixed bias voltages larger than the superconducting gap, a non-monotonic dependence of the tunnel current on perpendicular magnetic field is observed. The effect is interpreted as the presence of a coherent component of the quasiparticle current.

Chirality-Induced Magnet-Free Spin Generation in a Semiconductor.

Electrical generation and transduction of polarized electron spins in semiconductors (SCs) are of central interest in spintronics and quantum information science. While spin generation in SCs is frequently realized via electrical injection from a ferromagnet (FM), there are significant advantages in nonmagnetic pathways of creating spin polarization. One such pathway exploits the interplay of electron spin with chirality in electronic structures or real space. Here, utilizing chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS), the efficient creation of spin accumulation in n-doped GaAs via electric current injection from a normal metal (Au) electrode through a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of chiral molecules (α-helix l-polyalanine, AHPA-L), is demonstrated. The resulting spin polarization is detected as a Hanle effect in the n-GaAs, which is found to obey a distinct universal scaling with temperature and bias current consistent with chirality-induced spin accumulation. The experiment constitutes a definitive observation of CISS in a fully nonmagnetic device structure and demonstration of its ability to generate spin accumulation in a conventional SC. The results thus place key constraints on the physical mechanism of CISS and present a new scheme for magnet-free SC spintronics.

Out-of-equilibrium voltage and thermal bias response of a quantum dot hybrid system coupled to topological superconductor

We investigate theoretically the out-of-equilibrium transport properties of a single-level quantum dot coupled to a normal metal electrode and attached to a topological superconductor. Both voltage and thermal bias responses of the system in the nonequilibrium regime are studied. To obtain transport characteristics we used the nonequilibrium Green’s function approach. Particularly, we calculated the current and the corresponding differential conductance in two distinct cases. In the former situation, the charge current is induced by applying a bias voltage, whereas in the latter case it is generated by setting a temperature difference between the leads with no bias voltage. Moreover, strong diode effect in thermally generated current is found and non-equilibrium thermopower is analyzed.

Interplay of structural chirality, electron spin and topological orbital in chiral molecular spin valves

Chirality has been a property of central importance in physics, chemistry and biology for more than a century. Recently, electrons were found to become spin polarized after transmitting through chiral molecules, crystals, and their hybrids. This phenomenon, called chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS), presents broad application potentials and far-reaching fundamental implications involving intricate interplays among structural chirality, topological states, and electronic spin and orbitals. However, the microscopic picture of how chiral geometry influences electronic spin remains elusive, given the negligible spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in organic molecules. In this work, we address this issue via a direct comparison of magnetoconductance (MC) measurements on magnetic semiconductor-based chiral molecular spin valves with normal metal electrodes of contrasting SOC strengths. The experiment reveals that a heavy-metal electrode provides SOC to convert the orbital polarization induced by the chiral molecular structure to spin polarization. Our results illustrate the essential role of SOC in the metal electrode for the CISS spin valve effect. A tunneling model with a magnetochiral modulation of the potential barrier is shown to quantitatively account for the unusual transport behavior.

Solution of master equations by fermionic-duality: Time-dependent charge and heat currents through an interacting quantum dot proximized by a superconductor

We analyze the time-dependent solution of master equations by exploiting fermionic duality, a dissipative symmetry applicable to a large class of open systems describing quantum transport. Whereas previous studies mostly exploited duality relations after partially solving the evolution equations, we here systematically exploit the invariance under the fermionic duality mapping from the very beginning when setting up these equations. Moreover, we extend the resulting simplifications -so far applied to the local state evolution- to non-local observables such as transport currents. We showcase the exploitation of fermionic duality for a quantum dot with strong interaction -covering both the repulsive and attractive case- proximized by contact with a large-gap superconductor which is weakly probed by charge and heat currents into a wide-band normal-metal electrode. We derive the complete time-dependent analytical solution of this problem involving non-equilibrium Cooper pair transport, Andreev bound states and strong interaction. Additionally exploiting detailed balance we show that even for this relatively complex problem the evolution towards the stationary state can be understood analytically in terms of the stationary state of the system itself via its relation to the stationary state of a dual system with inverted Coulomb interaction, superconducting pairing and applied voltages.

Magnetic-field-controlled spin valve and spin memory based on single-molecule magnets

A single-molecule magnet is a long-sought-after nanoscale component because it can enable us to miniaturize nonvolatile memory storage devices. The signature of a single-molecule magnet is switching between two bistable magnetic ground states under an external magnetic field. Based on this feature, we theoretically investigate a magnetic-field-controlled reversible resistance change active at low temperatures in a molecular magnetic tunnel junction, which consists of a single-molecule magnet sandwiched between a ferromagnetic electrode and a normal metal electrode. Our numerical results demonstrate that the molecular magnetism orientation can be manipulated by magnetic fields to be parallel/antiparallel to the ferromagnetic electrode magnetization. Moreover, different magnetic configurations can be “read out” based on different resistance states or different spin polarization parameters in the current spectrum, even in the absence of a magnetic field. Such an external magnetic field-controlled resistance state switching effect is similar to that in traditional spin valve devices. The difference between the two systems is that one of the ferromagnetic layers in the original device has been replaced by a magnetic molecule. This proposed scheme provides the possibility of better control of the spin freedom of electrons in molecular electrical devices, with potential applications in future high-density nonvolatile memory devices.

Cooper pair splitting controlled by a temperature gradient.

Electrons in two different normal metallic electrodes attached to a sufficiently thin superconducting island may become entangled due to the effect of Cooper pair splitting. This phenomenon is of fundamental importance and may also have serious implications for developing quantum communication technologies. One way to identify Cooper pair splitting is to analyze long-range cross correlations of fluctuating currents in three-terminal hybrid normal-superconducting-normal nanostructures. Here, we theoretically investigate non-trivial behavior of cross-correlated non-local shot noise in the presence of a temperature gradient. We suggest that applying a temperature gradient may serve as an extra tool to control the phenomenon of Cooper pair splitting.

Spin-polarized currents through a triangle quantum dot junction driven by voltage and temperature gradient

Using the Green's function method in Hubbard model we investigate the spin-polarized currents in a triangle Quantum dot (TQD) connected to normal metal electrodes (M/TQD/M system) in the presence of Coulomb interaction. The spin-dependent currents generated by a voltage or temperature gradient in the M/TQD/M system. Results show that in both voltage-driven and temperature-driven cases the M/TQD/M system can generate spin-polarized currents with nonlinear behavior. Also, 100% current spin polarization (SP) ratio can be observed only in temperature-driven case. Besides, the spin-dependent currents and SP ratio can be interestingly controlled with the QD on-site energy, dots' level detuning factor and spin polarization factor. These results may be useful to design future spin-thermoelectric devices based on QDs.

Spin-neutral tunneling anomalous Hall effect

Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is a fundamental spin-dependent transport property that is widely used in spintronics. It is generally expected that currents carrying net spin polarization are required to drive the AHE. Here we demonstrate that, in contrast to this common expectation, a spin-neutral tunneling AHE (TAHE), i.e. a TAHE driven by spin-neutral currents, can be realized in an antiferromagnetic (AFM) tunnel junction where an AFM electrode with a non-spin-degenerate Fermi surface and a normal metal electrode are separated by a non-magnetic barrier with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The symmetry mismatch between the AFM electrode and the SOC barrier results in an asymmetric spin-dependent momentum filtering of the spin-neutral longitudinal current generating the transverse Hall current in each electrode. We predict a sizable spin-neutral TAHE in an AFM tunnel junction with a RuO$_{2}$-type AFM electrode and a SnTe-type SOC barrier and show that the Hall currents are reversible by the N\'eel vector switching. With the Hall angle being comparable to that in conventional AHE bulk materials, the predicted spin-neutral TAHE can be used for the N\'eel vector detection in antiferromagnetic spintronics.

Electron spin coherence on a solid neon surface

A single electron floating on the surface of a condensed noble-gas liquid or solid can act as a spin qubit with ultralong coherence time, thanks to the extraordinary purity of such systems. Previous studies suggest that the electron spin coherence time on a superfluid helium (He) surface can exceed 100 s. In this paper, we present theoretical studies of the electron spin coherence on a solid neon (Ne) surface, motivated by our recent experimental realization of single-electron charge qubit on solid Ne. The major spin decoherence mechanisms investigated include the fluctuating Ne diamagnetic susceptibility due to thermal phonons, the fluctuating thermal current in normal metal electrodes, and the quasi-statically fluctuating nuclear spins of the 21Ne ensemble. We find that at a typical experimental temperature about 10 mK in a fully superconducting device, the electron spin decoherence is dominated by the third mechanism via electron–nuclear spin–spin interaction. For natural Ne with 2700 ppm abundance of 21Ne, the estimated inhomogeneous dephasing time is around 0.16 ms, already better than most semiconductor quantum-dot spin qubits. For commercially available, isotopically purified Ne with 1 ppm of 21Ne, can be 0.43 s. Under the application of Hahn echoes, the coherence time T 2 can be improved to 30 ms for natural Ne and 81 s for purified Ne. Therefore, the single-electron spin qubits on solid Ne can serve as promising new spin qubits.

Nanomechanics driven by the superconducting proximity effect

We consider a nanoelectromechanical weak link composed of a carbon nanotube suspended above a trench in a normal metal electrode and positioned in a gap between two superconducting leads. The nanotube is treated as a movable single-level quantum dot (QD) in which the position-dependent superconducting order parameter is induced as a result of Cooper pair tunneling. We show that in such a system, self-sustained bending vibrations can emerge if a bias voltage is applied between normal and superconducting electrodes. The occurrence of this effect crucially depends on the direction of the bias voltage and the relative position of the QD level. We also demonstrate that the nanotube vibrations strongly affect the dc current through the system, a characteristic that can be used for the direct experimental observation of the predicted phenomenon.

Coherent current correlations in a double-dot Cooper pair splitter

Exact analytical formulas are derived, by means of Keldysh Green functions, for currents and current correlation functions in a Cooper pair splitter modelled on a double quantum dot system coherently coupled to a superconductor and two normal metallic electrodes. Confining to the subspace with the inter-dot singlet we show perfect entanglement of split electrons in two separated crossed Andreev reflection processes. The studies are focused on the noise power spectrum in a whole bias voltage range. In particular, in the large voltage limit shot noise dominates and its spectrum exhibits two extraordinary side dips related to resonant inter-level current correlations caused by coherent electron-hole recombination processes accompanied by emission and absorption of photons. In the linear response limit we derived the frequency dependent admittance which shows different interference patterns for the cross and the auto current correlations.

Magnetization dynamics in a Majorana-wire–quantum-dot setup

We theoretically study the quench dynamics of the local magnetization in a hybrid Majorana-wire--quantum-dot system coupled to external leads. In order to thoroughly understand the origin of the dot magnetization dynamics, we consider either normal metal or ferromagnetic electrodes. In the first case, the magnetization arises exclusively from the proximity to the topological superconductor hosting Majorana zero-energy modes and the associated development of an induced exchange field. We predict a nonmonotonic dependence of the dot's magnetization in the odd-occupation regime and show that the dynamics is governed by the magnitude of the coupling to Majorana wire. However, when the system is coupled to ferromagnetic leads, the ferromagnet and Majorana contributions to the effective exchange field are competing with each other and reveal a nontrivial dynamical behavior. As a result, the time-dependent magnetization can undergo multiple sign changes preceding the relaxation to a new thermal value. We also identify the transport regime, where fine tuning of the coupling to Majorana wire within a narrow range allows one to manipulate the magnetic state of the system. The effect of spin polarization of the leads and influence of the finite overlap between the Majorana edge modes are also examined. Moreover, we analyze the quench in the energy of the quantum dot orbital level and demonstrate that the rather straightforward charge dynamics can disguise nontrivial time evolution of the magnetization. Finally, we compare predicted dynamics with results obtained for quantum dot coupled to spin-polarized fermionic bound state instead of Majorana zero-energy mode.

Demonstration of a high-sensitivity and wide-dynamic-range terahertz graphene hot-electron bolometer with Johnson noise thermometry

Graphene hot-electron bolometer (HEB) detectors, with weak electron–phonon interaction and a wide working temperature range, are of particular interest for terahertz (THz) applications including astronomy. In this paper, we report on the performance of a zero-biased THz HEB detector using Johnson noise thermometry based on bilayer graphene (BLG) of high charge carrier density. Two BLG HEB devices with respective normal-metal and superconducting electrodes are compared particularly for their thermal conductance and detection sensitivity (noise equivalent power, NEP) in a low-temperature regime (0.3–10 K). With electron out-diffusion largely suppressed by Andreev reflection, the device with superconducting electrodes outperforms the device with normal-metal electrodes, giving an electrical NEP of 15 fW/Hz0.5 and a dynamic range of 47 dB at 0.3 K. Moreover, its optical coupling efficiency is found to be 58% and can reach as high as 92% with the optical losses of the measurement system calibrated out. Graphene detectors of this kind can achieve better detection performance given lower readout noise and decreased electron–phonon thermal conductance.

Strain and electric field tunable electronic transport in armchair phosphorene nanodevice with normal-metal electrodes

Phosphorene, one of the graphene counterparts, is believed to have promising potential to be utilized in nanoelectronics due to its significant properties. Phosphorene has a nonplanar puckered structure with high anisotropy, which enables the elastic strain or external field to tune its electronic structure. In this work, we propose a nanodevice model based on an armchair phosphorene nanoribbon (APNR) with normal-metal electrodes and study the tuning effect of elastic strain and electric field on the electronic transport properties. We first confirm that the APNR can be driven to be of metallic conduction with linear dispersion around the Fermi level, by applying a critical compressive strain. After applying a perpendicular electric field, the APNR turns out to be a band insulator. Furthermore, we calculate the dc conductance and density of states (DOS) of the nanodevice, where the APNR is connected to normal-metal electrodes. The numerical results show that in the absence of an electric field, the nanodevice possesses peak values of conductance and DOS at the Fermi level. Once the electric field is applied, a gap emerges around the Fermi level in the conductance, which suggests that the nanodevice is turned off by the external electric field. Our investigation on the present system could be useful in the development of a field-effect nanodevice based on monolayer phosphorene.

Light Amplification without Inversion from Hybrid Quantum Dot–Resonator Circuit: Floquet Nonequilibrium Green's Function Approach

Herein, a new mechanism of steady‐state light amplification without inversion from a hybrid quantum dot circuit coupled to a single mode of electromagnetic resonator is theoretically investigated. Hybrid quantum dot circuit consists of a single‐level quantum dot which is connected weakly to one normal metal electrode and strongly to one superconducting electrode. Using the Floquet nonequilibrium Green's function technique, it is shown that the gain originates from the Andreev reflection processes at proper gate voltages when the bias voltage exceeds a certain threshold. Also, it is found that the inversionless light amplification is mediated by spin transitions between Andreev and Floquet–Andreev bound states in the superconducting energy gap.

Photon-assisted resonant Andreev reflections: Yu-Shiba-Rusinov and Majorana states

Photon-assisted tunneling frequently provides detailed information on the underlying charge-transfer process. In particular, the Tien-Gordon approach and its extensions predict that the sideband spacing in bias voltage is a direct fingerprint of the number of electrons transferred in a single tunneling event. Here, we analyze photon-assisted tunneling into subgap states in superconductors in the limit of small temperatures and bias voltages where tunneling is dominated by resonant Andreev processes and does not conform to the predictions of simple Tien-Gordon theory. Our analysis is based on a systematic Keldysh calculation of the subgap conductance and provides a detailed analytical understanding of photon-assisted tunneling into subgap states, in excellent agreement with a recent experiment. We focus on tunneling from superconducting electrodes and into Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states associated with magnetic impurities or adatoms, but we also explicitly extend our results to include normal-metal electrodes or other types of subgap states in superconductors. In particular, we argue that photon-assisted Andreev reflections provide a high-accuracy method to measure small, but nonzero energies of subgap states which can be important for distinguishing conventional subgap states from Majorana bound states.

Low-frequency ac transport in silicene nanosystem with normal-metal electrodes

Low-frequency ac transport properties are investigated theoretically in the zigzag silicene nanosystem with normal-metal electrode/silicene nanoribbon/normal-metal electrode (NSN) structure. Based on the tight-binding approach and ac transport theory, we numerically compute the dc conductance and ac emittance in the nanosystem, by considering the nearest-neighbor hopping, second-nearest-neighbor spin–orbit interaction (SOI) and external electric field. The results show that the anti-resonance effect, caused by the interface scattering between the silicene ribbon and the normal-metal electrodes, is offset by the relatively strong SOI. The SOI induces a quantum phase transition and establishes a topological edge channel in the real space revealed by the local density of states (LDOS), resulting in a constant dc conductance and a vanishing ac emittance around the Dirac point. Further study suggests that the transport property is topologically protected by the SOI from the geometrical size change of the nanosystem.

Nonequilibrium electron transport in a hybrid superconductor–normal metal entangler in a dissipative environment

We consider a three-terminal Cooper-pair splitting device with a superconducting electrode tunnel coupled to two normal metal electrodes. We employ the Nambu-Gor'kov and Schwinger-Keldysh formalisms to describe the nonequilibrium transport properties of the device for arbitrary transmissions of the barriers and for a general electromagnetic environment. We derive the analytic expressions for the current and the nonlocal differential conductance, and analyze the limits of clean and dirty superconductivity.

Functionalizing Arrays of Transferred Monolayer Graphene on Insulating Surfaces by Bipolar Electrochemistry.

Development of versatile methods for graphene functionalization is necessary before use in applications such as composites or as catalyst support. In this study, bipolar electrochemistry is used as a wireless functionalization method to graft 4-bromobenzenediazonium on large (10 × 10 mm(2)) monolayer graphene sheets supported on SiO2. Using this technique, transferred graphene can be electrochemically functionalized without the need of a metal support or the deposition of physical contacts. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy are used to map the chemical changes and modifications of graphene across the individual sheets. Interestingly, the defect density is similar between samples, independent of driving potential, whereas the grafting density is increased upon increasing the driving potential. It is observed that the 2D nature of the electrode influences the electrochemistry and stability of the electrode compared to conventional electrografting using a three-electrode setup. On one side, the graphene will be blocked by the attached organic film, but the conductivity is also altered upon functionalization, which makes the graphene electrode different from a normal metal electrode. Furthermore, it is shown that it is possible to simultaneously modify an array of many small graphene electrodes (1 × 1 mm(2)) on SiO2.