Proximity-induced superconducting gap in the quantum spin Hall edge state of monolayer WTe2

Lüpke, Felix; Waters, Dacen; de la Barrera, Sergio C.; Widom, Michael; Mandrus, David G.; Yan, Jiaqiang; Feenstra, Randall M.; Hunt, Benjamin M.

doi:10.1038/s41567-020-0816-x

Title: Proximity-induced superconducting gap in the quantum spin Hall edge state of monolayer WTe2

Journal Article · 16 March 2020 · Nature Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-020-0816-x · OSTI ID:1649055

Lüpke, Felix ^[1]; Waters, Dacen ^[1]; de la Barrera, Sergio C. ^[1];

^[1]; Mandrus, David G. ^[2];

^[3]; Feenstra, Randall M. ^[1];

^[1]

Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

The quantum spin Hall insulator is characterized by a bandgap in the two-dimensional (2D) interior and helical 1D edge states^1,2,3. Inducing superconductivity in the helical edge state results in a 1D topological superconductor, a highly sought-after state of matter at the core of many proposals for topological quantum computing⁴. In the present study, we report the coexistence of superconductivity and the quantum spin Hall edge state in a van der Waals heterostructure, by placing a monolayer of 1T'-WTe₂, a quantum spin Hall insulator^1,2,3, on a van der Waals superconductor, NbSe₂. Using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS), we demonstrate that the WTe₂ monolayer exhibits a proximity-induced superconducting gap due to the underlying superconductor and that the spectroscopic features of the quantum spin Hall edge state remain intact. Taken together, these observations provide conclusive evidence for proximity-induced superconductivity in the quantum spin Hall edge state in WTe₂, a crucial step towards realizing 1D topological superconductivity and Majorana bound states in this van der Waals material platform.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1649055

Journal Information:: Nature Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 5; ISSN 1745-2473

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group (NPG)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 66 works

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