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Yang H, Li YY, Liu TT, Xue HY, Guan DD, Wang SY, Zheng H, Liu CH, Fu L, Jia JF. Superconductivity of Topological Surface States and Strong Proximity Effect in Sn 1- x Pb x Te-Pb Heterostructures. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2019; 31:e1905582. [PMID: 31721337 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201905582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Superconducting topological crystalline insulators are expected to form a new type of topological superconductors to host Majorana zero modes under the protection of lattice symmetries. The bulk superconductivity of topological crystalline insulators can be induced through chemical doping and the proximity effect. However, only conventional full gaps are observed, so the existence of topological superconductivity in topological crystalline insulators is still controversial. Here, the successful fabrication of atomically flat lateral and vertical Sn1- x Pbx Te-Pb heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy is reported. The superconductivity of the Sn1- x Pbx Te-Pb heterostructures can be directly investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Unconventional peak-dip-hump gap features and fourfold symmetric quasiparticle interference patterns taken at the zero energy in the superconducting gap support the presence of the topological superconductivity in superconducting Sn1- x Pbx Te. Strong superconducting proximity effect and easy preparation of various constructions between Sn1- x Pbx Te and Pb make the heterostructures to be a promising candidate for topological superconducting devices to detect and manipulate Majorana zero modes in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yang
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yao-Yi Li
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Teng-Teng Liu
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Huan-Yi Xue
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Dan-Dan Guan
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Shi-Yong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Hao Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Can-Hua Liu
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Liang Fu
- CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jin-Feng Jia
- Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
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