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Published on: August 2, 2019
Proximity-Induced Superconductivity and Quantum Interference in Topological Crystalline Insulator SnTe Thin-Film
Robin Klett1, Joachim Schönle2, Andreas Becker1
1Center for Spinelectronic Materials & Devices, Physics Department, Bielefeld University , Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
Abstract:
Topological crystalline insulators represent a new state of matter, in which the electronic transport is governed by mirror-symmetry protected Dirac surface states. Due to the helical spin-polarization of these surface states, the proximity of topological crystalline matter to a nearby superconductor is predicted to induce unconventional superconductivity and, thus, to host Majorana physics. We report on the preparation and characterization of Nb-based superconducting quantum interference devices patterned on top of topological crystalline insulator SnTe thin films. The SnTe films show weak anti-localization, and the weak links of the superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) exhibit fully gapped proximity-induced superconductivity. Both properties give a coinciding coherence length of 120 nm. The SQUID oscillations induced by a magnetic field show 2π periodicity, possibly dominated by the bulk conductivity.
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