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Published on: August 2, 2019
Two-Band Superconductivity in Few-Layer NbSe_{2} and TaS_{2}
Shahar Simon1, Maya Klang1, Oded Millo1
1The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Racah Institute of Physics, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Abstract:
The nature of superconductivity in the transition metal dichalcogenide family, particularly 2H-NbSe_{2} and 2H-TaS_{2} in the ultrathin limit, is not fully understood. While tunneling measurements apparently show a single superconducting gap, its detailed shape cannot be reproduced by simple single-band theories of superconductivity. In this work, we present tunneling data into thin exfoliated samples of both materials and show excellent agreement with the McMillan two-band model of superconductivity when the scattering parameters are large with respect to the superconducting gaps, even when only a single gap is apparent. We propose that in thin samples, these highly cross-scattering gaps reside on the Γ and K Fermi surfaces derived from the transition metal atoms. Additionally, we quantitatively analyze pair breaking induced by magnetic field, and find that it is also well described by the two-band McMillan theory. Our results thus suggest that in its bulk thickness, 2H-NbSe_{2} is likely a three-band superconductor.
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