Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films
The proximity effect at the interface between a topological insulator and a superconductor is predicted to give rise to chiral topological superconductivity and Majorana fermion excitations. In most topological insulators studied to date, however, the conducting bulk states have overwhelmed the tran...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2016-08-01
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| Series: | Physical Review X |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.031031 |
| _version_ | 1819010331208318976 |
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| author | Seunghun Lee Xiaohang Zhang Yangang Liang Sean W. Fackler Jie Yong Xiangfeng Wang Johnpierre Paglione Richard L. Greene Ichiro Takeuchi |
| author_facet | Seunghun Lee Xiaohang Zhang Yangang Liang Sean W. Fackler Jie Yong Xiangfeng Wang Johnpierre Paglione Richard L. Greene Ichiro Takeuchi |
| author_sort | Seunghun Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The proximity effect at the interface between a topological insulator and a superconductor is predicted to give rise to chiral topological superconductivity and Majorana fermion excitations. In most topological insulators studied to date, however, the conducting bulk states have overwhelmed the transport properties and precluded the investigation of the interplay of the topological surface state and Cooper pairs. Here, we demonstrate the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of SmB_{6} thin films which display bulk insulation at low temperatures. The Fermi velocity in the surface state deduced from the proximity effect is found to be as large as 10^{5} m/s, in good agreement with the value obtained from a separate transport measurement. We show that high transparency between the topological insulator and a superconductor is crucial for the proximity effect. The finding here opens the door to investigation of exotic quantum phenomena using all-thin-film multilayers with high-transparency interfaces. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T01:10:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd81abdafe864193a409a5338830a06e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2160-3308 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T01:10:34Z |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Physical Review X |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd81abdafe864193a409a5338830a06e2022-12-21T19:20:56ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082016-08-016303103110.1103/PhysRevX.6.031031Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin FilmsSeunghun LeeXiaohang ZhangYangang LiangSean W. FacklerJie YongXiangfeng WangJohnpierre PaglioneRichard L. GreeneIchiro TakeuchiThe proximity effect at the interface between a topological insulator and a superconductor is predicted to give rise to chiral topological superconductivity and Majorana fermion excitations. In most topological insulators studied to date, however, the conducting bulk states have overwhelmed the transport properties and precluded the investigation of the interplay of the topological surface state and Cooper pairs. Here, we demonstrate the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of SmB_{6} thin films which display bulk insulation at low temperatures. The Fermi velocity in the surface state deduced from the proximity effect is found to be as large as 10^{5} m/s, in good agreement with the value obtained from a separate transport measurement. We show that high transparency between the topological insulator and a superconductor is crucial for the proximity effect. The finding here opens the door to investigation of exotic quantum phenomena using all-thin-film multilayers with high-transparency interfaces.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.031031 |
| spellingShingle | Seunghun Lee Xiaohang Zhang Yangang Liang Sean W. Fackler Jie Yong Xiangfeng Wang Johnpierre Paglione Richard L. Greene Ichiro Takeuchi Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films Physical Review X |
| title | Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films |
| title_full | Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films |
| title_fullStr | Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films |
| title_short | Observation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect in the Surface State of SmB_{6} Thin Films |
| title_sort | observation of the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of smb 6 thin films |
| url | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.6.031031 |
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