Supercurrent mediated by helical edge modes in bilayer graphene

Prasanna Rout, Nikos Papadopoulos, Fernando Peñaranda, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Elsa Prada, Pablo San-Jose () and Srijit Goswami ()
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Prasanna Rout: Delft University of Technology
Nikos Papadopoulos: Delft University of Technology
Fernando Peñaranda: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM)
Kenji Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
Takashi Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Elsa Prada: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM)
Pablo San-Jose: Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM)
Srijit Goswami: Delft University of Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Bilayer graphene encapsulated in tungsten diselenide can host a weak topological phase with pairs of helical edge states. The electrical tunability of this phase makes it an ideal platform to investigate unique topological effects at zero magnetic field, such as topological superconductivity. Here we couple the helical edges of such a heterostructure to a superconductor. The inversion of the bulk gap accompanied by helical states near zero displacement field leads to the suppression of the critical current in a Josephson geometry. Using superconducting quantum interferometry we observe an even-odd effect in the Fraunhofer interference pattern within the inverted gap phase. We show theoretically that this effect is a direct consequence of the emergence of helical modes that connect the two edges of the sample. The absence of such an effect at high displacement field, as well as in bare bilayer graphene junctions, supports this interpretation and demonstrates the topological nature of the inverted gap.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44952-6

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