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Superconductor-Insulator Transition in Ultra-Thin Sb2Te3 Nanoplates

Journal of Contemporary Physics (Armenian Academy of Sciences) volume 57, pages 81–86 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

The conductivity of single-crystal nanoplates of the Sb2Te3 topological insulator has been investigated. A sharp drop in resistance occurs in ultrathin Sb2Te3 nanoplates at a temperature of about 4 K, which is a manifestation of superconductivity. The results show that the presence of an optimal degree of disorder is a necessary condition for the onset of superconductivity. A superconductor-insulator transition, tunable by a magnetic field, is observed in these nanoplates. The temperature dependence of the magnetoresistance in fields below the critical value (B < BC) shows a successive transformation of a weak antilocalization anomaly into a superconducting transition. The value of the correlation length exponent ν = 0.75 ± 0.05 was obtained using the scaling theory.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Professor Yang Yuan Chen for the opportunity to carry out measurements at the Institute of Physics (Taipei, Taiwan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Physical Research, NAS of Armenia, Ashtarak, Armenia

    A. A. Kuzanyan & S. R. Harutyunyan

  2. Russian–Armenian University, Yerevan, Armenia

    S. R. Harutyunyan

  3. University of California, California, Los Angeles, USA

    A. A. Kuzanyan

Authors
  1. A. A. Kuzanyan
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  2. S. R. Harutyunyan
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Correspondence to S. R. Harutyunyan.

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Translated by V.M. Aroutiounian

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Kuzanyan, A.A., Harutyunyan, S.R. Superconductor-Insulator Transition in Ultra-Thin Sb2Te3 Nanoplates. J. Contemp. Phys. 57, 81–86 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068337222010121

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068337222010121

Keywords:

  • nanoplates
  • magnetoresistance
  • superconductor-insulator transition
  • weak localization
  • weak antilocalization