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Edge superconductivity in multilayer WTe2 Josephson junction.

Authors :
Huang, Ce
Narayan, Awadhesh
Zhang, Enze
Xie, Xiaoyi
Ai, Linfeng
Liu, Shanshan
Yi, Changjiang
Shi, Youguo
Sanvito, Stefano
Xiu, Faxian
Source :
National Science Review. Sep2020, Vol. 7 Issue 9, p1468-1475. 8p.
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

WTe2, as a type-II Weyl semimetal, has 2D Fermi arcs on the (001) surface in the bulk and 1D helical edge states in its monolayer. These features have recently attracted wide attention in condensed matter physics. However, in the intermediate regime between the bulk and monolayer, the edge states have not been resolved owing to its closed band gap which makes the bulk states dominant. Here, we report the signatures of the edge superconductivity by superconducting quantum interference measurements in multilayer WTe2 Josephson junctions and we directly map the localized supercurrent. In thick WTe2 (⁠|$\sim 60{\rm{\ nm}})$|⁠ , the supercurrent is uniformly distributed by bulk states with symmetric Josephson effect (⁠|$| {I_c^ + (B)} | {=} | {I_c^ - (B)} |\ $|⁠). In thin WTe2 (10 nm), however, the supercurrent becomes confined to the edge and its width reaches up to |$1.4{\rm{\ \mu m\ }}$| and exhibits non-symmetric behavior |$| {I_c^ + (B)} | \ne | {I_c^ - (B)} |$|⁠. The ability to tune the edge domination by changing thickness and the edge superconductivity establishes WTe2 as a promising topological system with exotic quantum phases and a rich physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20955138
Volume :
7
Issue :
9
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
National Science Review
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
146102826
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa114