Dresden 2017 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 42: Transport: Topological Semimetals 2 (jointly with DS, MA, HL, O)
MA 42.8: Talk
Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 17:00–17:15, HSZ 204
Self-forming superconducting microstructures from Weyl semi-metals — •Maja D. Bachmann1, Nityan Nair3, Felix Flicker3, Roni Ilan3, Nirmal J. Ghimire2, Eric D. Bauer2, Filip Ronning2, James G. Analytis3, and Philip J.W. Moll1 — 1Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, 01187 Dresden, Germany — 2Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA — 3Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley, CA, USA
The non-trivial topology of the bulk bands in topological semi-metals protects new electronic states at the surface, such as the famous Fermi arc states. If a superconducting gap is induced in these materials, exotic electronic states are expected to appear at the interface such as zero-energy Majorana modes. These novel states provide insights into the topological aspects of electronic matter and are of interest for quantum coherent applications. Here we will present a new route to reliably fabricating superconducting microstructures from the intrinsically non-superconducting Weyl semi-metals NbAs and TaAs under ion irradiation. The large difference in the surface binding energy of Nb/Ta and As leads to a natural enrichment of Nb/Ta at the surface during ion milling, forming a superconducting surface layer (Tc~3.5K). Being formed from the target crystal itself, the ideal contact between the superconductor and the bulk enables an effective gapping of the nodes due to the proximity effect. Simple low energy ion irradiation may thus serve as a powerful tool to fabricate topological quantum devices from mono-arsenides, even on an industrial scale.