Proximity-induced Superconductivity Research Articles

Josephson detection of time-reversal symmetry broken superconductivity in SnTe nanowires

A Josephson junction (JJ) couples the supercurrent flowing between two weakly linked superconductors to the phase difference between them via a current-phase relation (CPR). While a sinusoidal CPR is expected for conventional junctions with insulating weak links, devices made from some exotic materials may give rise to unconventional CPRs and unusual Josephson effects. In this work, we present such a case: we investigate the proximity-induced superconductivity in SnTe nanowires by incorporating them as weak links in JJs and observe a deviation from the standard CPR. We report on indications of an unexpected breaking of time-reversal symmetry in these devices, detailing the unconventional characteristics that reveal this behavior. These include an asymmetric critical current in the DC Josephson effect, a prominent second harmonic in the AC Josephson effect, and a magnetic diffraction pattern with a minimum in critical current at zero magnetic field. The analysis examines how multiband effects and the experimentally visualized ferroelectric domain walls give rise to this behavior, giving insight into the Josephson effect in materials that possess ferroelectricity and/or multiband superconductivity.

Influence of the Fermi surface geometry on the Josephson effect between iron-pnictide and conventional superconductors

We study Josephson junctions between a multi-band iron-pnictide Ba1-xNaxFe2As2 and conventional s-wave superconductors Nb and Cu/Nb bilayer. We observe that junctions with a Cu interlayer exhibit much larger IcRn, despite a weaker proximity-induced superconductivity. This counterintuitive result is attributed to the difference in Fermi surface geometries of Nb and Cu, which leads to a selective one-band tunneling from Cu and a non-selective multi-band tunnelng from Nb. The latter leads to a mutual cancellation of supercurrents due to the sign-reversal s+- symmetry of the order parameter in the pnictide. Our results indicate that Fermi surface geometries play a crucial role for pnictide-based junctions. This provides a new tool for phase sensitive studies and paves a way to a conscious engineering of such junctions.

(Invited) Quantum Dots and Superconductivity in Silicon Systems

Ge/Si core/shell nanowires are suitable candidates for electrically driven spin qubits, and for the creation of Majorana fermions [1]. In highly tuneable hole quantum dots [2, 3], we observe shell filling of new orbitals and corresponding Pauli spin blockade [4]. In nanowires with superconducting Al leads we create a Josephson junction via proximity-induced superconductivity. A gate-tuneable supercurrent is observed with a maximum of ~60 nA [5]. We identify two different regimes: Cooper pair tunnelling via multiple subbands in the open regime the device [6], while near depletion the supercurrent is carried by single-particle levels of a quantum dot operating in the few-hole regime [5,7,8].Secondly, we create ambipolar quantum dots in silicon nanoMOSFETs. We investigate the conformity of Al, Ti and Pd nanoscale gates by means of transmission electron microscopy [9]. We define low-disorder electron quantum dots with Pd gates [10], and depletion-mode hole quantum dots in undoped silicon [11]. For the latter we use fixed charge in a SiO2/Al2O3 dielectric stack to induce a 2DHG at the Si/SiO2 interface. The depletion-mode design avoids complex multilayer architectures requiring precision alignment and allows directly adopting best practices already developed for depletion dots in other material systems. Finally, we have realized ambipolar charge sensing: we have fabricated a single-electron transistor next to a single-hole transistor, and tuned both quantum dots to sense charge transitions of the other quantum dot. Using active charge sensing the single-electron transistor can detect the few-charge regime in the hole quantum dot [12].[1] C. Kloeffel et al., Phys. Rev. B 84, 195314 (2011). [2] M. Brauns et al., Applied Physics Letters 109, p. 143113 (2016). [3] F. Froning et al., Applied Physics Letters 113, p. 073102 (2018). [4] M. Brauns et al., Phys. Rev. B 94, 041441(R) (2016). [5] J. Ridderbos et al., Advanced Materials, 1802257, (2018). [6] J. Xiang et al., Nature Nanotechnology 1, 3 (2006). [7] J. Ridderbos et al., Physical Review Materials, 3, 084803 (2019). [8] J. Ridderbos et al., Nano Letters 20, 1, p. 122 (2020). [9] P. C. Spruijtenburg et al., Nanotechnology, (2018). [10] M. Brauns et al., Scientific Reports 8, 5690, (2018). [11] S. V. Amitonov et al., Applied Physics Letters 112, p. 023102 (2018). [12] A. J. Sousa de Almeida et al., Phys. Rev. B 101, 201301(R) (2020). Figure 1

Coalescence of Andreev Bound States on the Surface of a Chiral Topological Semimetal

We experimentally investigate the magnetic field dependence of Andreev transport through a region of proximity-induced superconductivity in the CoSi topological chiral semimetal. With increasing magnetic field parallel to the CoSi surface, the sharp subgap peaks, associated with Andreev bound states, move together to nearly-zero bias position, while there is only monotonic peaks suppression for normal to the surface fields. The zero-bias $$dV{\text{/}}dI$$ resistance value is perfectly stable with changing the in-plane magnetic field. As the effects are qualitatively similar for In and Nb superconducting leads, they reflect the properties of a proximized CoSi surface. The Andreev states coalescence and stability of the zero-bias $$dV{\text{/}}dI$$ value with increasing in-plane magnetic field are interpreted as the joined effect of the strong spin–orbit coupling and the Zeeman interaction, known for proximized semiconductor nanowires. We associate the observed magnetic field anisotropy with the recently predicted in-plane polarized spin texture of the Fermi arcs surface states.

Enhancement of proximity-induced superconductivity in a planar Ge hole gas

Hole gases in planar germanium can have high mobilities in combination with strong spin-orbit interaction and electrically tunable g-factors, and are therefore emerging as a promising platform for creating hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices. A key challenge towards hybrid Ge-based quantum technologies is the design of high-quality interfaces and superconducting contacts that are robust against magnetic fields. In this work, by combining the assets of aluminum, which provides good contact to the Ge, and niobium, which has a significant superconducting gap, we demonstrate highly transparent low-disordered JoFETs with relatively large \IcRn \ products that are capable of withstanding high magnetic fields. We furthermore demonstrate the ability of phase-biasing individual JoFETs, opening up an avenue to explore topological superconductivity in planar Ge. The persistence of superconductivity in the reported hybrid devices beyond 1.8 Tesla paves the way towards integrating spin qubits and proximity-induced superconductivity on the same chip.

Competing Energy Scales in Topological Superconducting Heterostructures.

Artificially engineered topological superconductivity has emerged as a viable route to create Majorana modes. In this context, proximity-induced superconductivity in materials with a sizable spin–orbit coupling has been intensively investigated in recent years. Although there is convincing evidence that superconductivity may indeed be induced, it has been difficult to elucidate its topological nature. Here, we engineer an artificial topological superconductor by progressively introducing superconductivity (Nb), strong spin–orbital coupling (Pt), and topological states (Bi2Te3). Through spectroscopic imaging of superconducting vortices within the bare s-wave superconducting Nb and within proximitized Pt and Bi2Te3 layers, we detect the emergence of a zero-bias peak that is directly linked to the presence of topological surface states. Our results are rationalized in terms of competing energy trends which are found to impose an upper limit to the size of the minigap separating Majorana and trivial modes, its size being ultimately linked to fundamental materials properties.

Above-gap differential conductance dips in superconducting point contacts

Point-contact Andreev spectroscopy is one of the most powerful techniques for obtaining quantitative energy and momentum-resolved information on the electronic properties of a superconductor. However, appropriate measurements often reveal unexpected conductance features that cannot be adequately modeled using conventional theory. In particular, these include conductance dips at voltage biases slightly exceeding the expected energy gap value for a superconductor. Guided by recent point-contact measurements of proximity-induced superconductivity in topological materials, we explain these features by inhomogeneous superconducting state in the studied material, conditionally divided into two parts with different gap values and a semitransparent potential barrier between them. To test this assumption, we designed a model experiment that mimics the main features of the model. The heterostructure under study is formed by an almost ideal point contact, formed using a new technology of self-textured nanofilaments based on the resistive-switching effect in a TiO2 film, a Pt counter-electrode, and a proximized Al/Ni0.5Cu0.5/NbN system, where superconducting correlations from the NbN superconductor are penetrating into a weak ferromagnetic Ni0.5Cu0.5 alloy in contact with an Al film. For a quantitative description of the conductance dips observed in all such devices and their evolution with temperature, we propose an extension of the conventional theory, the main element of which is a non-equilibrium-driven superconducting-to-normal transition and a crossover from coherent to sequential transmission in the Al/NiCu bilayer. Understanding the origin of the conductance dips imposes some restrictions on the explanation of induced superconductivity and paves the way for discovering novel superconducting materials with advanced properties.

Approaching depairing current in dirty thin superconducting strip covered by low resistive normal metal

We experimentally demonstrate that a thin dirty superconducting (S) strip covered by low resistive normal metal (N) approaches closer to the depairing current than a single S strip, which makes its non-linear properties stronger. The obtained result comes from proximity-induced superconductivity in the N layer, its large contribution to the superconducting properties of the SN bilayer and larger sensitivity to the current than that of the host S layer. We argue that such an SN bilayer could be a promising system for different applications based on the current-dependent kinetic inductance. In addition, we also find that in the presence of the N layer the maximal vortex velocity in the resistive state considerably increases.

Superconducting proximity effect and order parameter fluctuations in disordered and quasiperiodic systems

We study the superconducting proximity effect in inhomogeneous systems in which a disordered or quasicrystalline normal-state wire is connected to a BCS superconductor. We self-consistently compute the local superconducting order parameters in the real space Bogoliubov-de Gennes framework for three cases, namely, when states are i) extended, ii) localized or iii) critical. The results show that the spatial decay of the superconducting order parameter as one moves away from the normal-superconductor interface is power law in cases i) and iii), stretched exponential in case ii). In the quasicrystalline case, we observe self-similarity in the spatial modulation of the proximity-induced superconducting order parameter. To characterize fluctuations, which are large in these systems, we study the distribution functions of the order parameter at the center of the normal region. These are Gaussian functions of the variable (case i) or of its logarithm (cases ii and iii). We give arguments to explain the characteristics of the distributions and their scaling with system size for each of the three cases.

Coulomb blockade effects in a topological insulator grown on a high-Tc cuprate superconductor

The evidence for proximity-induced superconductivity in heterostructures of topological insulators and high-Tc cuprates has been intensely debated. We use molecular-beam epitaxy to grow thin films of topological insulator Bi2Te3 on a cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x, and study the surface of Bi2Te3 using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. In few unit-cell thick Bi2Te3 films, we find a V-shaped gap-like feature at the Fermi energy in dI/dV spectra. By reducing the coverage of Bi2Te3 films to create nanoscale islands, we discover that this spectral feature dramatically evolves into a much larger hard gap, which can be understood as a Coulomb blockade gap. This conclusion is supported by the evolution of dI/dV spectra with the lateral size of Bi2Te3 islands, as well as by topographic measurements that show an additional barrier separating Bi2Te3 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x. We conclude that the prominent gap-like feature in dI/dV spectra in Bi2Te3 films is not a proximity-induced superconducting gap. Instead, it can be explained by Coulomb blockade effects, which take into account additional resistive and capacitive coupling at the interface. Our experiments provide a fresh insight into the tunneling measurements of complex heterostructures with buried interfaces.

Probing Proximity-Induced Superconductivity in InAs Nanowires Using Built-In Barriers

Bound states in superconductor-nanowire hybrid devices play a central role, carrying informationon the ground states properties (Shiba or Andreev states) or on the topological properties of thesystem (Majorana states). The spectroscopy of such bound states relies on the formation of well-defined tunnel barriers, usually defined by gate electrodes, which results in smooth tunnel barriers.Here we used thin InP segments embedded into InAs nanowire during the growth process to forma sharp built-in tunnel barrier. Gate dependence and thermal activation measurements have beenused to confirm the presence and estimate the height of this barrier. By coupling these wires tosuperconducting electrodes we have investigated the gate voltage dependence of the induced gap inthe nanowire segment, which we could understand using a simple model based on Andreev boundstates. Our results show that these built-in barriers are promising as future spectroscopic tools

Catalytically mediated epitaxy of 3D semiconductors on van der Waals substrates

The formation of well-controlled interfaces between materials of different structure and bonding is a key requirement when developing new devices and functionalities. Of particular importance are epitaxial or low defect density interfaces between two-dimensional materials and three-dimensional semiconductors or metals, where an interfacial structure influences electrical conductivity in field effect and optoelectronic devices, charge transfer for spintronics and catalysis, and proximity-induced superconductivity. Epitaxy and hence well-defined interfacial structure has been demonstrated for several metals on van der Waals-bonded substrates. Semiconductor epitaxy on such substrates has been harder to control, for example during chemical vapor deposition of Si and Ge on graphene. Here, we demonstrate a catalytically mediated heteroepitaxy approach to achieve epitaxial growth of three-dimensional semiconductors such as Ge and Si on van der Waals-bonded materials such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. Epitaxy is “transferred” from the substrate to semiconductor nanocrystals via solid metal nanocrystals that readily align on the substrate and catalyze the formation of aligned nuclei of the semiconductor. In situ transmission electron microscopy allows us to elucidate the reaction pathway for this process and to show that solid metal nanocrystals can catalyze semiconductor growth at a significantly lower temperature than direct chemical vapor deposition or deposition mediated by liquid catalyst droplets. We discuss Ge and Si growth as a model system to explore the details of such hetero-interfacing and its applicability to a broader range of materials.

Proximity-Induced Odd-Frequency Superconductivity in a Topological Insulator.

At an interface between a topological insulator (TI) and a conventional superconductor (SC), superconductivity has been predicted to change dramatically and exhibit novel correlations. In particular, the induced superconductivity by an s-wave SC in a TI can develop an order parameter with a p-wave component. Here we present experimental evidence for an unexpected proximity-induced novel superconducting state in a thin layer of the prototypical TI, Bi_{2}Se_{3} proximity coupled to Nb. From depth-resolved magnetic field measurements below the superconducting transition temperature of Nb, we observe a local enhancement of the magnetic field in Bi_{2}Se_{3} that exceeds the externally applied field, thus supporting the existence of an intrinsic paramagnetic Meissner effect arising from an odd-frequency superconducting state. Our experimental results are complemented by theoretical calculations supporting the appearance of such a component at the interface which extends into the TI. This state is topologically distinct from the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer state it originates from. To the best of our knowledge, these findings present a first observation of bulk odd-frequency superconductivity in a TI. We thus reaffirm the potential of the TI-SC interface as a versatile platform to produce novel superconducting states.

Morphology-Related Functionality in Nanoarchitectured GaN

Integrating silicon and III-nitride technologies for high-speed and large bandwidth communication demands optically interconnected active components that detect, process, and emit photons and electrons. It is imperative that multifunctional materials can enhance the performance and simplify fabrication of such devices. Spontaneously grown GaN in the nanowall network (NwN) architecture simultaneously displays unprecedented optical and electrical properties. A two-order increase in band-edge emission makes it suitable for high-brightness light-emitting diodes and laser applications. Decorating this NwN with silver nanoparticles further enhances emission through plasmonic interactions and renders it an excellent surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrate for biomolecular detection. The observation of very high electron mobility (approximately 104 cm2/Vs) and large phase-coherence length (60 μm) is a consequence of two-dimensional (2D) electron gas formation applicable for high electron mobility transistors. Detecting ballistic transport in the nanowalls confirms proximity-induced superconductivity (<5 K and 8 T). Charge separation properties render it a device material for UV photodetectors, photoanodes for water splitting, and thermionic field emitters.

Time-reversal invariant topological superconductivity in planar Josephson bijunction

We consider a Josephson bijunction consisting of a thin $SIS$ $\pi$-Josephson junction sandwiched between two-dimensional semiconducting layers with strong Rashba spin-orbit interaction. Each of these layers forms an $SNS$ junction due to proximity-induced superconductivity. The $SIS$ junction is assumed to be thin enough such that the two Rashba layers are tunnel-coupled. We show that, by tuning external gates, this system can be controllably brought into a time-reversal invariant topological superconducting phase with a Kramers pair of Majorana bound states being localized at the end of the normal region for a large parameter phase space. In particular, in the strong spin-orbit interaction limit, the topological phase can be accessed already in the regime of small tunneling amplitudes.

Chiral Majorana fermions in graphene from proximity-induced superconductivity

We present a detailed theoretical study of chiral topological superconductor phases in proximity-superconducting graphene systems based on an effective model inspired by DFT simulations. Inducing s-wave superconductivity to quantum anomalous Hall effect systems leads to chiral topological superconductors. For out-of-plane magnetization we find topological superconducting phases with even numbers of chiral Majorana fermions per edge which is correlated to the opening of a nontrivial gap in the bulk system in the $\mathrm{ K}$-points and their connection under particle-hole symmetry. We show that in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator with in-plane magnetization and nontrivial gap opening at $\mathrm{M}$, the corresponding topological superconductor can be tuned to host only single chiral Majorana states at its edge which is promising for proposals exploiting such states for braiding operations.

Twofold symmetry of proximity-induced superconductivity in Bi2Te3/Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ heterostructures revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy

We observe proximity-induced superconductivity in the \textit{in situ} prepared heterostructures constructed by topological insulator Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ thin films and high-temperature cuprate superconductors Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+\delta}$. The superconducting gap maximum is about 7.6 meV on the surface of Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$ thin films with a thickness of two quintuple layers, and the gap value decreases with an increase in the film thickness. Moreover, the quasiparticle interference data show a clear evidence of a twofold symmetric superconducting gap with gap minima along one pair of the principal crystalline axes of Bi$_{2}$Te$_{3}$. This gap form is consistent with the $\Delta_{4y}$ notation of the topological superconductivity proposed in such systems. Our results provide fruitful information of the possible topological superconductivity induced by the proximity effect in high-temperature superconducting cuprates.

A Josephson junction based on a highly disordered superconductor/low-resistivity normal metal bilayer.

We calculate the current–phase relation (CPR) of a SN-S-SN Josephson junction based on a SN bilayer of variable thickness composed of a highly disordered superconductor (S) and a low-resistivity normal metal (N) with proximity-induced superconductivity. In such a junction, the N layer provides both a large concentration of phase in the weak link and good heat dissipation. We find that when the thickness of the S and the N layer and the length of the S constriction are about the superconducting coherence length the CPR is single-valued and can be close to a sinusoidal shape. The product IcRn can reach Δ(0)/2|e| (Ic is the critical current of the junction, Rn is its normal-state resistance, Δ(0) is the superconductor gap of a single S layer at zero temperature). Our calculations show, that the proper choice of the thickness of the N layer leads both to nonhysteretic current–voltage characteristics even at low temperatures and a relatively large product IcRn.

Superconducting proximity effect in flat band systems

We study theoretically proximity-induced superconductivity and its inverse effect in dice lattice flat band model by considering Josephson junction with an s-wave pairing in the superconducting leads. Using self-consistent tight-binding Bogoliubov–de Gennes method, we show that there is a critical value for chemical potential of the superconductors depending on paring interaction strength over which for undoped normal region the proximity effect is enhanced. Whereas if the supserconductor chemical potential is less than the critical one the proximity effect decreases regardless of normal region doping and in the meanwhile, the pairing amplitude of superconducting region increases significantly. Furthermore, we unveil that the supercurrent passing through the junction is large (vanishingly small) when the superconductor chemical potential is smaller (larger) than the critical value which increases as a function of normal region chemical potential.

Spin Transport in Ferromagnet-InSb Nanowire Quantum Devices.

Signatures of Majorana zero modes (MZMs) have been observed in semiconductor nanowires (NWs) with a strong spin-orbital interaction (SOI) with proximity-induced superconductivity. Realizing topological superconductivity and MZMs in this platform requires eliminating spin degeneracy by applying a magnetic field. However, the field can adversely impact the induced superconductivity and places geometric restrictions on the device. These challenges could be circumvented by integrating magnetic elements with the NWs. Here, we report the first experimental investigation of spin transport across InSb NWs with ferromagnetic (FM) contacts. We observe signatures of spin polarization and spin-dependent transport in the quasi-one-dimensional ballistic regime. Moreover, we show that electrostatic gating tunes the observed magnetic signal and reveals a regime where the device acts as a spin filter. These results open an avenue toward developing MZM devices with spin degeneracy lifted locally without external fields. They could also enable spin-based devices that leverage spin-orbital states in quantum wires.