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Title: Superconductivity in few-layer stanene

Abstract

A single atomic slice of α-tin—stanene—has been predicted to host the quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature, offering an ideal platform to study low-dimensional and topological physics. Although recent research has focused on monolayer stanene, the quantum size effect in few-layer stanene could profoundly change material properties, but remains unexplored. By exploring the layer degree of freedom, we discover superconductivity in few-layer stanene down to a bilayer grown on PbTe, while bulk α-tin is not superconductive. Through substrate engineering, we further realize a transition from a single-band to a two-band superconductor with a doubling of the transition temperature. In situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) together with first-principles calculations elucidate the corresponding band structure. The theory also indicates the existence of a topologically non-trivial band. Thus, our experimental findings open up novel strategies for constructing two-dimensional topological superconductors.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [4];  [2]
  1. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). State Key Lab. of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics and Dept. of Physics
  2. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). State Key Lab. of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics and Dept. of Physics; Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter (CICQM), Beijing (China)
  3. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). State Key Lab. of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics and Dept. of Physics; Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter (CICQM), Beijing (China); RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Saitama (Japan)
  4. Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Physics
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) (China); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Beijing Innovation Center for Future Chip (ICFC); Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China); Thousand-Young-Talents Program (China)
OSTI Identifier:
1438571
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515; 2017YFA0304600; 2017YFA0302902; 11604176
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nature Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 14; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1745-2473
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Superconducting properties and materials; Topological matter

Citation Formats

Liao, Menghan, Zang, Yunyi, Guan, Zhaoyong, Li, Haiwei, Gong, Yan, Zhu, Kejing, Hu, Xiao-Peng, Zhang, Ding, Xu, Yong, Wang, Ya-Yu, He, Ke, Ma, Xu-Cun, Zhang, Shou-Cheng, and Xue, Qi-Kun. Superconductivity in few-layer stanene. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1038/s41567-017-0031-6.
Liao, Menghan, Zang, Yunyi, Guan, Zhaoyong, Li, Haiwei, Gong, Yan, Zhu, Kejing, Hu, Xiao-Peng, Zhang, Ding, Xu, Yong, Wang, Ya-Yu, He, Ke, Ma, Xu-Cun, Zhang, Shou-Cheng, & Xue, Qi-Kun. Superconductivity in few-layer stanene. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-017-0031-6
Liao, Menghan, Zang, Yunyi, Guan, Zhaoyong, Li, Haiwei, Gong, Yan, Zhu, Kejing, Hu, Xiao-Peng, Zhang, Ding, Xu, Yong, Wang, Ya-Yu, He, Ke, Ma, Xu-Cun, Zhang, Shou-Cheng, and Xue, Qi-Kun. Mon . "Superconductivity in few-layer stanene". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-017-0031-6. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1438571.
@article{osti_1438571,
title = {Superconductivity in few-layer stanene},
author = {Liao, Menghan and Zang, Yunyi and Guan, Zhaoyong and Li, Haiwei and Gong, Yan and Zhu, Kejing and Hu, Xiao-Peng and Zhang, Ding and Xu, Yong and Wang, Ya-Yu and He, Ke and Ma, Xu-Cun and Zhang, Shou-Cheng and Xue, Qi-Kun},
abstractNote = {A single atomic slice of α-tin—stanene—has been predicted to host the quantum spin Hall effect at room temperature, offering an ideal platform to study low-dimensional and topological physics. Although recent research has focused on monolayer stanene, the quantum size effect in few-layer stanene could profoundly change material properties, but remains unexplored. By exploring the layer degree of freedom, we discover superconductivity in few-layer stanene down to a bilayer grown on PbTe, while bulk α-tin is not superconductive. Through substrate engineering, we further realize a transition from a single-band to a two-band superconductor with a doubling of the transition temperature. In situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) together with first-principles calculations elucidate the corresponding band structure. The theory also indicates the existence of a topologically non-trivial band. Thus, our experimental findings open up novel strategies for constructing two-dimensional topological superconductors.},
doi = {10.1038/s41567-017-0031-6},
journal = {Nature Physics},
number = 4,
volume = 14,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Mon Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}

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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Superconductive properties of few-layer stanene. a, illustration of stanene lattice and the Sn/PbTe/Bi2Te3 sandwich structure. Upper left panel shows a top view of only one layer of stanene. Distances marked are from first-principle calculations. b, Normalized resistance of stanene with increasing number of layers grown on substrates consistingmore » of 15-PbTe/5-Bi2Te3/Si(111). c, Normalized resistance of trilayer stanene (3-Sn) grown on different thicknesses of PbTe substrates. Numbers in the panel marks the number of PbTe layers. Dotted curves represent the data from the second measurement after 15-20 days of storage in a glovebox. Dashed curves are from a second sample grown in the same nominal thicknesses. Except for the top two, other curves are equally offset for clarity. d e, Critical temperature (Tc) as a function of the number of stanene layers (d) or the PbTe layers (e). The three data points of Tc in a row represent the temperatures where the resistance drops to 1%, 50% and 90% of the normal resistance (Rn), respectively. Dashed straight line and solid curves in d and e are guide for the eye. For NSn=20, the superconducting transition temperature is approaching that of bulk β-Sn: 3.7K.« less

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