Hybrid High-Temperature-Superconductor–Semiconductor Tunnel Diode

Abstract

We report the demonstration of hybrid high-T c -superconductor-semiconductor tunnel junctions, enabling new interdisciplinary directions in condensed matter research. The devices are fabricated by our newly developed mechanical-bonding technique, resulting in high-T c -superconductor-semiconductor tunnel diodes. Tunneling-spectra characterization of the hybrid junctions of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8þ combined with bulk GaAs, or a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well, exhibits excess voltage and nonlinearity, similarly to spectra obtained in scanning-tunneling microscopy, and is in good agreement with theoretical predictions for a Superconductors enable the implementation of fast ultrasensitive detectors [1,2] and large-scale quantumcomputation technology [3,4]. These materials pose major scientific and technological challenges, however. A potential alternative avenue may be provided by hybrid semiconductor-superconductor devices, which have been attracting growing attention lately as they combine the controllability of semiconductor structures with the macroscopic quantum states of superconductors [5,6]. The interaction of light with semiconductor-superconductor structures has recently emerged as a new interdisciplinary field of superconducting optoelectronics, with demonstrations of light emission from hybrid light-emitting diodes [7,8] enhanced by the superconducting state [9,10], and various proposals for novel lasers [11] and quantum light sources [12,13]. These hybrid devices have also proven useful in nonlinear electronics [14,15] and infrared detection [16], taking advantage of the relatively small size of the superconducting gap in the tunneling spectrum [17]. All previously studied semiconductor-superconductor devices were based on conventional low-criticaltemperature (low-T c ) superconductors, requiring cooling to extremely low temperatures. Moreover, the small superconducting gaps of these materials limit the energy scales over which they can be employed. A high operating temperature and large d-wave gaps can be obtained by incorporating unconventional high-T c superconductors [18,19] that exhibit a variety of novel phenomena and provide a more practical alternative for device implementation. Furthermore, by combining high-T c materials with semiconductors, one could take advantage of mature semiconductor technology to probe the unconventional nature of high-T c superconductors [20] in hybrid tunneling junctions.Tunneling spectroscopy is among the most widely used techniques for the study of novel materials and new phenomena in condensed matter physics [21]. Various effects have been observed with tunneling spectroscopy such as weak localization [22], superconducting-gap dependence on a magnetic field [23], bound states and broken symmetries in high-T c superconductors [24], as well as studies of the pseudogap, preformation of Cooper pairs [25], and electron-hole asymmetry [26]. These experiments usually require sophisticated and expensive scanning-tunneling spectroscopy equipment. A simple method of constructing high

Evidence for a new excitation at the interface between a high-Tcsuperconductor and a topological insulator

“…1B. For every temperature (T) shown, dI/dV (T ) curves are normalized to the normal-state conductance, taken at 110 K. As the temperature is lowered below the T c of Bi-2212, we observe the clear opening of the superconducting gap starting at T c =85 K, consistent with our previous studies of high barrier junctions between Bi-2212 and a variety of materials (GaAs, Graphite) 19,28 as well as other tunnelling measurements 9,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35] . The conductance at high-bias (and the overall spectra) decreases continuously as the temperature is lowered, partially due to the Bi 2 Te 2 Se becoming more resistive (Fig.…”

Cooper-pair-based photon entanglement without isolated emitters

“…At temperatures below the superconducting transition of typical s-wave low-T c materials such as Nb [30], the emitted photons thus should be in an essentially pure entangled state. The superconducting proximity effect has been demon- strated recently with high-T c materials [32], enabling potential applications of this scheme at much higher temperatures in hybrid semiconductor high-T c devices as well [33].…”

Thin‐Film‐Based Integrated High‐Transition‐Temperature Superconductor Devices

“…A) Cleaving of Bi‐2212 using scotch tape. B) Cleaving of Bi 2 Se 3 using glass sides and tapes to obtain pristine interfaces and C) fabricated HTS on GaAs device . Reproduced with permission .…”

“…Copyright 2012, Springer Nature. Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2012, American Physical Society.…”