Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2
Abstract Topological superconductivity is a promising concept for generating fault-tolerant qubits. Early experimental studies looked at hybrid systems and doped intrinsic topological or superconducting materials at very low temperatures. However, higher critical temperatures are indispensable for t...
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54389-6 |
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| author | Sebastian Schimmel Yanina Fasano Sven Hoffmann Julia Besproswanny Laura Teresa Corredor Bohorquez Joaquín Puig Bat-Chen Elshalem Beena Kalisky Grigory Shipunov Danny Baumann Saicharan Aswartham Bernd Büchner Christian Hess |
| author_facet | Sebastian Schimmel Yanina Fasano Sven Hoffmann Julia Besproswanny Laura Teresa Corredor Bohorquez Joaquín Puig Bat-Chen Elshalem Beena Kalisky Grigory Shipunov Danny Baumann Saicharan Aswartham Bernd Büchner Christian Hess |
| author_sort | Sebastian Schimmel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Topological superconductivity is a promising concept for generating fault-tolerant qubits. Early experimental studies looked at hybrid systems and doped intrinsic topological or superconducting materials at very low temperatures. However, higher critical temperatures are indispensable for technological exploitation. Recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy results have revealed that superconductivity in the type-I Weyl semimetal—trigonal PtBi2 (t-PtBi2)—is located at the Fermi-arc surface states, which renders the material a potential candidate for intrinsic topological superconductivity. Here we show, using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, that t-PtBi2 presents surface superconductivity at elevated temperatures (5 K). The gap magnitude is elusive: it is spatially inhomogeneous and spans from 0 to 20 meV. In particular, the large gap value and the shape of the quasiparticle excitation spectrum resemble the phenomenology of high-Tc superconductors. To our knowledge, this is the largest superconducting gap so far measured in a topological material. Moreover, we show that the superconducting state at 5 K persists in magnetic fields up to 12 T. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-02e18e819687477585f813cfc5536dda |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-02e18e819687477585f813cfc5536dda2024-11-17T12:36:34ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-11-011511610.1038/s41467-024-54389-6Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2Sebastian Schimmel0Yanina Fasano1Sven Hoffmann2Julia Besproswanny3Laura Teresa Corredor Bohorquez4Joaquín Puig5Bat-Chen Elshalem6Beena Kalisky7Grigory Shipunov8Danny Baumann9Saicharan Aswartham10Bernd Büchner11Christian Hess12Fakultät für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Bergische Universität WuppertalLeibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Fakultät für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Bergische Universität WuppertalFakultät für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Bergische Universität WuppertalLeibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Leibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Department of Physics and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan UniversityDepartment of Physics and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan UniversityLeibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Leibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Leibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Leibniz-Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW-Dresden)Fakultät für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Bergische Universität WuppertalAbstract Topological superconductivity is a promising concept for generating fault-tolerant qubits. Early experimental studies looked at hybrid systems and doped intrinsic topological or superconducting materials at very low temperatures. However, higher critical temperatures are indispensable for technological exploitation. Recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy results have revealed that superconductivity in the type-I Weyl semimetal—trigonal PtBi2 (t-PtBi2)—is located at the Fermi-arc surface states, which renders the material a potential candidate for intrinsic topological superconductivity. Here we show, using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, that t-PtBi2 presents surface superconductivity at elevated temperatures (5 K). The gap magnitude is elusive: it is spatially inhomogeneous and spans from 0 to 20 meV. In particular, the large gap value and the shape of the quasiparticle excitation spectrum resemble the phenomenology of high-Tc superconductors. To our knowledge, this is the largest superconducting gap so far measured in a topological material. Moreover, we show that the superconducting state at 5 K persists in magnetic fields up to 12 T.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54389-6 |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Schimmel Yanina Fasano Sven Hoffmann Julia Besproswanny Laura Teresa Corredor Bohorquez Joaquín Puig Bat-Chen Elshalem Beena Kalisky Grigory Shipunov Danny Baumann Saicharan Aswartham Bernd Büchner Christian Hess Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2 Nature Communications |
| title | Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2 |
| title_full | Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2 |
| title_fullStr | Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2 |
| title_short | Surface superconductivity in the topological Weyl semimetal t-PtBi2 |
| title_sort | surface superconductivity in the topological weyl semimetal t ptbi2 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54389-6 |
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