1. Superconducting Long-Range Proximity Effect through the Atomically Flat Interface of a Bi 2 Te 3 Topological Insulator
- Author
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Vasily S. Stolyarov, Sergio Vlaic, Evgueni V. Chulkov, Yuriy E. Lozovik, S. V. Remizov, Tatiana V. Menshchikova, Christophe Brun, D. S. Shapiro, Sergey I. Bozhko, Tristan Cren, Dimitri Roditchev, Stéphane Pons, W. V. Pogosov, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology [Moscow] (MIPT), Laboratoire de Physique et d'Etude des Matériaux (UMR 8213) (LPEM), Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris (ESPCI Paris), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Superconductivity ,Range (particle radiation) ,Materials science ,Condensed matter physics ,02 engineering and technology ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,Amorphous solid ,[PHYS.COND.CM-S]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat]/Superconductivity [cond-mat.supr-con] ,law ,Condensed Matter::Superconductivity ,Topological insulator ,0103 physical sciences ,Proximity effect (superconductivity) ,[PHYS.COND.CM-MS]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat]/Materials Science [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] ,General Materials Science ,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry ,Scanning tunneling microscope ,010306 general physics ,0210 nano-technology ,Spectroscopy ,Layer (electronics) ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS - Abstract
We report on structural and electronic properties of superconducting nanohybrids made of Pb grown in the ultrahigh vacuum on the atomically clean surface of single crystals of topological Bi2Te3. In situ scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy demonstrated that the resulting network is composed of Pb-nanoislands dispersed on the surface and linked together by an amorphous atomic layer of Pb, which wets Bi2Te3. As a result, the superconducting state of the system is characterized by a thickness-dependent superconducting gap of Pb-islands and by a very unusual position-independent proximity gap between them. Furthermore, the data analysis and DFT calculations demonstrate that the Pb-wetting layer leads to significant modifications of both topological and trivial electronic states of Bi2Te3, which are responsible for the observed long-range proximity effect.
- Published
- 2021
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