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Observation of triplet superconductivity in CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterostructures

Superconductivity 2021-07-20 v1 Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Abstract

Unconventional superconductivity and in particular triplet superconductivity have been front and center of topological materials and quantum technology research. Here we report our observation of triplet superconductivity in nonmagnetic CoSi2_2/TiSi2_2 heterostructures on silicon. CoSi2_2 undergoes a sharp superconducting transition at a critical temperature TcT_c \approx 1.5 K, while TiSi2_2 is a normal metal. We investigate conductance spectra of both two-terminal CoSi2_2/TiSi2_2 tunnel junctions and three-terminal T-shaped CoSi2_2/TiSi2_2 superconducting proximity structures. We report an unexpectedly large spin-orbit coupling in CoSi2_2 heterostructures. Below TcT_c, we observe (1) a narrow zero-bias conductance peak on top of a broad hump, accompanied by two symmetric side dips in the tunnel junctions, (2) a narrow zero-bias conductance peak in T-shaped structures, and (3) hysteresis in the junction magnetoresistance. These three independent and complementary observations are indicative of chiral pp-wave pairing in CoSi2_2/TiSi2_2 heterostructures. This chiral triplet superconductivity and the excellent fabrication compatibility of CoSi2_2 and TiSi2_2 with present-day silicon integrated-circuit technology facilitate full scalability for potential use in quantum-computing devices.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2012.13679,
  title  = {Observation of triplet superconductivity in CoSi$_2$/TiSi$_2$ heterostructures},
  author = {Shao-Pin Chiu and C. C. Tsuei and Sheng-Shiuan Yeh and Fu-Chun Zhang and Stefan Kirchner and Juhn-Jong Lin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.13679},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

38 page (main text: 17 pages, supplementary information: 21 pages)