Abstract
Proximity-induced superconductivity in three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators forms a new quantum phase of matter and accommodates exotic quasiparticles such as Majorana bound states. One of the biggest drawbacks of the commonly studied 3D topological insulators is the presence of conducting bulk that obscures both surface states and low energy bound states. Introducing superconductivity in topological Kondo insulators such as SmB6, however, is promising due to their true insulating bulk at low temperatures. In this work, we develop an unconventional Josephson junction by coupling superconducting Nb leads to the surface states of a SmB6 crystal. We observe a robust critical current at low temperatures that responds to the application of an out-of-plane magnetic field with significant deviations from usual Fraunhofer patterns. The appearance of Shaphiro steps under microwave radiation gives further evidence of a Josephson effect. Moreover, we explore the effects of Kondo breakdown in our devices, such as ferromagnetism at the surface and anomalous temperature dependence of supercurrent. Particularly, the magnetic diffraction patterns show an anomalous hysteresis with the field sweep direction suggesting the coexistence of magnetism with superconductivity at the SmB6 surface. The experimental work will advance the current understanding of topologically nontrivial superconductors and emergent states associated with such unconventional superconducting phases.
Recommended Citation
X. Ye et al., "Unconventional Josephson Junctions with Topological Kondo Insulator Weak Links," Physical Review B, vol. 100, no. 10, American Physical Society (APS), Sep 2019.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.104505
Department(s)
Physics
Research Center/Lab(s)
Center for High Performance Computing Research
Keywords and Phrases
Electric insulators; Josephson junction devices; Magnetism; Quantum optics; Samarium compounds; Superconducting materials; Surface states; Temperature distribution; Topology, Fraunhofer patterns; Josephson-junction; Magnetic diffraction; Out-of-plane magnetic fields; Proximity-induced superconductivity; Super conducting phasis; Temperature dependence; Threedimensional (3-d), Boron compounds
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2469-9950; 2469-9969
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2019 American Physical Society (APS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Sep 2019
