Finite momentum Cooper pairing in three-dimensional topological insulator Josephson junctions

Angela Q. Chen, Moon Jip Park, Stephen T. Gill, Yiran Xiao, Dalmau Reig-i-Plessis, Gregory J. MacDougall, Matthew J. Gilbert and Nadya Mason ()
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Angela Q. Chen: University of Illinois
Moon Jip Park: University of Illinois
Stephen T. Gill: University of Illinois
Yiran Xiao: University of Illinois
Dalmau Reig-i-Plessis: University of Illinois
Gregory J. MacDougall: University of Illinois
Matthew J. Gilbert: University of Illinois
Nadya Mason: University of Illinois

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Unconventional superconductivity arising from the interplay between strong spin–orbit coupling and magnetism is an intensive area of research. One form of unconventional superconductivity arises when Cooper pairs subjected to a magnetic exchange coupling acquire a finite momentum. Here, we report on a signature of finite momentum Cooper pairing in the three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3. We apply in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields to proximity-coupled Bi2Se3 and find that the in-plane field creates a spatially oscillating superconducting order parameter in the junction as evidenced by the emergence of an anomalous Fraunhofer pattern. We describe how the anomalous Fraunhofer patterns evolve for different device parameters, and we use this to understand the microscopic origin of the oscillating order parameter. The agreement between the experimental data and simulations shows that the finite momentum pairing originates from the coexistence of the Zeeman effect and Aharonov–Bohm flux.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05993-w

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