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Anisotropic interfacial superconductivity induced at point contacts on topological semimetal grey arsenic

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Abstract

The origin of superconductivity observed at the point contact between the normal metal tip and the topological material remains uncertain due to the potential presence of superconducting elements or allotropes impurities. It is imperative to seek out a topological material entirely free of superconducting impurities and induce superconductivity between it and normal tips to verify the source of the induced superconductivity. Here, we report the observation of superconductivity up to 9 K induced at point contacts between normal metal tips and the topological material grey arsenic, which is free of superconductivity. The determined temperature dependencies of superconducting gaps Δ(T) deviate from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconductivity law, exhibiting abnormal behavior. Furthermore, the highly anisotropic upper critical field Hc2(T) suggests the anisotropy of the projected interfacial Fermi surface. By tuning the junction resistance, we obtained a negative correlation between the superconducting gap A and the effective barrier height Z, which validates the interfacial coupling strength as a key factor in the observed tip-induced superconductivity. These experimental results provide guidance for the relevant theory about tip-induced superconductivity on topological materials.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China

    Meng-Di Zhang

  2. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Meng-Di Zhang, Ling-Xiao Zhao, Zong Wang, Ya-Dong Gu, Fan Zhang, Zhi-An Ren & Gen-Fu Chen

  3. School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Meng-Di Zhang, Ling-Xiao Zhao, Zong Wang, Ya-Dong Gu, Fan Zhang, Zhi-An Ren & Gen-Fu Chen

  4. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics at Extreme Conditions, High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China

    Qing Wang & Ning Hao

  5. Science Island Branch of Graduate School, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Qing Wang

  6. Information Materials and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory of Anhui Province, Institute of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

    Xing-Yuan Hou & Lei Shan

  7. Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials (Anhui University), Ministry of Education, Hefei, 230601, China

    Xing-Yuan Hou & Lei Shan

  8. Center of Free Electron Laser & High Magnetic Field, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

    Xing-Yuan Hou & Lei Shan

  9. Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, 523808, China

    Zhi-An Ren & Gen-Fu Chen

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  1. Meng-Di Zhang
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  2. Qing Wang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Gen-Fu Chen, Ning Hao or Lei Shan.

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Additional information

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2022YFA1403203, 2017YFA0302904, 2017YFA0303201, 2018YFA0305602, and 2016YFA0300604), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12074002, 11574372, 11674331, 11804379, 11874417, and 92265104), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2015CB921303), the “Strategic Priority Research Program (B)” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos. XDB07020300, XDB07020100, and XDB33030100), the Recruitment Program for Leading Talent Team of Anhui Province (2019-16), and the Major Basic Program of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. ZR2021ZD01). A portion of this work was supported by the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of Anhui Province, China.

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Zhang, MD., Wang, Q., Hou, XY. et al. Anisotropic interfacial superconductivity induced at point contacts on topological semimetal grey arsenic. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 66, 297411 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-023-2165-5

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