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Combining graphene with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) leads to enhanced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the graphene. The induced SOC has a large effect on the low-energy part of the band structure leading to or stabilizing novel phases such as topological phases or superconductivity. Here, the pressure dependence of the SOC strength is investigated in bilayer graphene/WSe$_2$ heterostructures. We performed magnetoconductance studies, such as weak localization, quantum Hall, and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation measurements to extract the different SOC terms which determine the low-energy band structure of BLG. We find a significant increase of the SOC strengths as a result of the pressure. Our studies highlight the large tunability of SOC coupling strength with pressure, which is important for correlated phases or spin qubits in BLG/WSe$_2$ heterostructures.

Topological superconductors (SCs) hold great promise for fault-tolerant quantum hardware, however, their experimental realization is very challenging. Recently, superconducting artificial molecules (Andreev molecules) have opened new avenues to engineer topological superconducting materials. In this work, we demonstrate a heteroatomic Andreev molecule, where two normal artificial atoms realized by quantum dots (QDs) are coupled by a superconducting island (SCI). We show that the two normal atoms strongly hybridize and form a 3-electron-based molecular state. Our density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations explain quantitatively the robust binding of electrons. The tunability of the structure allows us to drive a quantum phase transition from an antiferromagnetic Andreev molecular state to a heteroatomic Andreev molecule with ferromagnetically coupled QDs using simple electrical gating.

Semiconductor-superconductor hybrid nanocircuits are of high interest due to their potential applications in quantum computing. Semiconductors with a strong spin-orbit coupling and large $g$-factor are particularly attractive since they are the basic building blocks of novel qubit architectures. However, for the engineering of these complex circuits, the building blocks must be characterized in detail. We have investigated a Josephson junction where the weak link is a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) hosted in an InAs/InGaAs heterostructure grown on a GaAs substrate. We employed the in-situ epitaxially grown Al layer as superconducting contacts to form an rf SQUID, and also to create a microwave resonator for sensing the Josephson inductance. We determined the gate-dependent current-phase relation, and observed supercurrent interference in out-of-plane magnetic fields. With the application of an in-plane magnetic field, we induced asymmetry in the interference pattern, which was found to be anisotropic in the device plane.

We experimentally investigate the electronic transport properties of a three-terminal graphene Josephson junction. We find that self-heating effects strongly influence the behaviour of this multiterminal Josephson junction (MTJJ) system. We show that existing simulation methods based on resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction networks can be significantly improved by taking into account these heating effects. We also investigate the phase dynamics in our MTJJ by measuring its switching current distribution and find correlated switching events in different junctions. We show that the switching dynamics is governed by phase diffusion at low temperatures. Furthermore, we find that self-heating introduces additional damping which results in overdamped I-V characteristics when normal and supercurrents coexist in the device.

The observation of the gate-controlled supercurrent (GCS) effect in superconducting nanostructures increased the hopes for realizing a superconducting equivalent of semiconductor field-effect transistors. However, recent works attribute this effect to various leakage-based scenarios, giving rise to a debate on its origin. A proper understanding of the microscopic process underlying the GCS effect and the relevant time scales would be beneficial to evaluate the possible applications. In this work, we observed gate-induced two-level fluctuations between the superconducting state and normal state in Al/InAs nanowires (NWs). Noise correlation measurements show a strong correlation with leakage current fluctuations. The time-domain measurements show that these fluctuations have Poissonian statistics. Our detailed analysis of the leakage current measurements reveals that it is consistent with the stress-induced leakage current (SILC), in which inelastic tunneling with phonon generation is the predominant transport mechanism. Our findings shed light on the microscopic origin of the GCS effect and give deeper insight into the switching dynamics of the superconducting NW under the influence of the strong gate voltage.

The layered van der Waals material ZrTe$_5$ is known as a candidate topological insulator (TI), however its topological phase and the relation with other properties such as an apparent Dirac semimetallic state is still a subject of debate. We employ a semiclassical multicarrier transport (MCT) model to analyze the magnetotransport of ZrTe$_5$ nanodevices at hydrostatic pressures up to 2 GPa. The temperature dependence of the MCT results between 10 and 300 K is assessed in the context of thermal activation, and we obtain the positions of conduction and valence band edges in the vicinity of the chemical potential. We find evidence of the closing and re-opening of the band gap with increasing pressure, which is consistent with a phase transition from weak to strong TI. This matches expectations from ab initio band structure calculations, as well as previous observations that CVT-grown ZrTe$_5$ is a weak TI in ambient conditions., Comment: Main Text: 11 pages, 5 figures; Supporting Information: 13 pages, 9 figures

The control of a superconducting current via the application of a gate voltage has been recently demonstrated in a variety of superconducting devices. Although the mechanism underlying this gate-controlled supercurrent (GCS) effect remains under debate, the GCS effect has raised great interest for the development of the superconducting equivalent of conventional metaloxide semiconductor electronics. To date, however, the GCS effect has been mostly observed in superconducting devices made by additive patterning. Here, we show that devices made by subtractive patterning show a systematic absence of the GCS effect. Doing a microstructural analysis of these devices and comparing them to devices made by additive patterning, where we observe a GCS, we identify some material and physical parameters that are crucial for the observation of a GCS. We also show that some of the mechanisms proposed to explain the origin of the GCS effect are not universally relevant., Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2302.13734

Multiple systems hosting Andreev molecular states have been proposed and studied, consisting of closely spaced Josephson junctions modeled as ballistic channels. We show that replacing the ballistic channels in the weak link of the Josephson junctions with quantum dots (QD), leads to a very exciting, rich phase diagram. It shows a strong nonlocal Josephson effect: as one junction is tuned the current-phase relation of the other junction is modified. This architecture hosts $0 - \pi$ transitions and shows a tunable anomalous phase-shift $\phi_0$ , nonlocally controlled in both cases, without relying on spin-orbit interaction or Zeeman fields. In addition significant superconducting diode effect can also be observed. The presented non-local current-phase relation can be used as a signature of the formation of an Andreev molecular state, as well as to introduce new ways to tune quantum architectures.

Bilayer graphene (BLG) was recently shown to host a band-inverted phase with unconventional topology emerging from the Ising-type spin--orbit interaction (SOI) induced by the proximity of transition metal dichalcogenides with large intrinsic SOI. Here, we report the stabilization of this band-inverted phase in BLG symmetrically encapsulated in tungsten-diselenide (WSe$_2$) via hydrostatic pressure. Our observations from low temperature transport measurements are consistent with a single particle model with induced Ising SOI of opposite sign on the two graphene layers. To confirm the strengthening of the inverted phase, we present thermal activation measurements and show that the SOI-induced band gap increases by more than 100% due to the applied pressure. Finally, the investigation of Landau level spectra reveals the dependence of the level-crossings on the applied magnetic field, which further confirms the enhancement of SOI with pressure.

In conventional metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics, the logic state of a device is set by a gate voltage (VG). The superconducting equivalent of such effect had remained unknown until it was recently shown that a VG can tune the superconducting current (supercurrent) flowing through a nanoconstriction in a superconductor. This gate-controlled supercurrent (GCS) effect can lead to superconducting logics like CMOS logics, but with lower energy dissipation. The physical mechanism underlying the GCS effect, however, remains under debate. In this review article, we illustrate the main mechanisms proposed for the GCS effect, and the material and device parameters that mostly affect it based on the evidence reported. We will come to the conclusion that different mechanisms are at play in the different studies reported so far. We then outline studies that can help answer open questions on the effect and achieve control over it, which is key for applications. We finally give insights into the impact that the GCS effect can have towards high-performance computing with low-energy dissipation and quantum technologies., Comment: 54 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables

Understanding the microscopic origin of the gate-controlled supercurrent (GCS) in superconducting nanobridges is crucial for engineering superconducting switches suitable for a variety of electronic applications. The origin of GCS is controversial, and various mechanisms have been proposed to explain it. In this work, we have investigated the GCS in a Ta layer deposited on the surface of InAs nanowires. Comparison between switching current distributions at opposite gate polarities and between the gate dependence of two opposite side gates with different nanowire$-$gate spacings shows that the GCS is determined by the power dissipated by the gate leakage. We also found a substantial difference between the influence of the gate and elevated bath temperature on the magnetic field dependence of the supercurrent. Detailed analysis of the switching dynamics at high gate voltages shows that the device is driven into the multiple phase slips regime by high-energy fluctuations arising from the leakage current.

The layered material ZrTe$_5$ appears to exhibit several exotic behaviors which resulted in significant interest recently, although the exact properties are still highly debated. Among these we find a Dirac/Weyl semimetallic behavior, nontrivial spin textures revealed by low temperature transport, and a potential weak or strong topological phase. The anomalous behavior of resistivity has been recently elucidated as originating from band shifting in the electronic structure. Our work examines magnetotransport behavior in ZrTe$_5$ samples in the context of multicarrier transport. The results, in conjunction with ab-initio band structure calculations, indicate that many of the transport features of ZrTe$_5$ across the majority of the temperature range can be adequately explained by the semiclassical multicarrier transport model originating from a complex Fermi surface., Comment: Main Text: 10 pages, 5 figures; Supporting Information: 10 pages, 7 figures

We have studied a near-surface two-dimensional electron gas based on an InAs quantum well on a GaAs substrate. In devices without a dielectric layer we estimated large electron mobilities on the order of $10^5$ cm$^2$/Vs. We have observed quantized conductance in a quantum point contact, and determined the g-factor. Using samples with an epitaxial Al layer, we defined multiple Josephson junctions and found the critical current to be gate tunable. Based on multiple Andreev reflections the semiconductor-superconductor interface is transparent, with an induced gap of 125 ${\mu}$eV. Our results demonstrate the viability of this platform for hybrid topological superconductor devices.

Hybrid nanostructures consisting of two parallel InAs nanowires connected by an epitaxially grown superconductor (SC) shell recently became available. Due to the defect-free SC-semiconductor interface and the two quasi-one-dimensional channels being close by, these novel platforms can be utilized to spatially separate entangled pairs of electrons by using quantum dots (QD) in the so-called Cooper pair splitting (CPS) process. The minimized distance between the QDs overcomes the limitations of single-wire-based geometries and can boost the splitting efficiency. Here we investigate CPS in such a device, for the first time, where strong inter-dot Coulomb repulsion is also present and studied thoroughly. We analyze theoretically the slight reduction of the CPS efficiency imposed by the Coulomb interaction and compare it to the experiments. Despite the competition between crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) and inter-wire capacitance, a significant CPS signal is observed indicating the dominance of the superconducting coupling. Our results demonstrate that the application of parallel InAs nanowires with epitaxial SC is a promising route for the realization of parafermionic states relying on enhanced CAR between the wires.