English

Gate-tunable anisotropic Josephson diode effect in topological Dirac semimetal Cd$_3$As$_2$ nanowires

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2026-03-11 v1

Abstract

The intrinsic Josephson diode effect (JDE) has recently attracted considerable attention due to its sensitivity to broken symmetries in Josephson junctions, offering a powerful probe for uncovering hidden symmetry-breaking mechanisms in materials. The presence of higher-harmonic components in the current-phase relation, together with spin-orbital coupling, makes topological materials ideal platforms to explore this effect. In this work, we present a systematic study of the JDE in type-I topological Dirac semimetal Cd3_3As2_2 nanowire-based Josephson junctions. We observe a pronounced gate-tunable and highly anisotropic diode response under different magnetic-field orientations. By developing a comprehensive phenomenological model, we capture the angular dependence of the diode effect and, through temperature-dependent measurements, disentangle the respective contributions from bulk and topological surface states. Notably, anomalies in the temperature dependence of the diode efficiency reveal the coexistence of multiple transport channels, highlighting the Josephson diode effect as a sensitive probe of hidden topological superconducting states.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.09676,
  title  = {Gate-tunable anisotropic Josephson diode effect in topological Dirac semimetal Cd$_3$As$_2$ nanowires},
  author = {Yan-Liang Hou and An-Qi Wang and Na Li and Chun-Guang Chu and Alexander Brinkman and Zhi-Min Liao and Chuan Li},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.09676},
  year   = {2026}
}