Two-dimensional superconductivity realized in an MBE-grown Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructure

ORAL

Abstract

We report a superconductivity realized at the interface of a Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructure fabricated via van der Waals epitaxy using the molecular beam epitaxy technique, which appears even when the thickness of Bi2Te3 is as thin as one quintuple layer. The two-dimensional nature of the observed superconductivity with the highest transition temperature around 12 K was verified by the existence of a Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and the diverging ratio of in-plane to out-plane upper critical field on approaching the superconducting transition temperature. The underlying mechanism of this interfacial superconductivity will be discussed. The heterostructure studied in this work provides an ideal platform with unconventional superconductivity for hosting Majorana fermions and studying their exotic physics.

*The work described here was substantially supported by grants from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (project No. 604910, 605011, AOE/P-04/08-3, 605512 and 603010).

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Authors

  • Qing Lin He

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Hongchao Liu

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Mingquan He

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Ying Hoi Lai

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Hongtao He

    • Department of Physics, South University of Science and Technology of China

  • Gan Wang

    • Department of Physics, South University of Science and Technology of China

  • Kam Tuen Law

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Rolf Lortz

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Jiannong Wang

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Iam Keong Sou

    • Department of Physics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology