Andreev reflection in a patterned graphene nanoribbon superconducting heterojunction

In the study, an improved superconducting heterojunction is made up of a zigzag graphene nanoribbon, which is patterned by a triangle and supports localized edge mode. Since all the localized edge modes stem from a pattern operation, the structure features of the pattern exert an enormous function on the coherent quantum transport. Especially, the patterned modes can enhance the Andreev reflection largely both in the ferromagnetic nanoribbon edge and the antiferromagnetic nanoribbon edge. The spin resolved zero bias conductances, in sharp contrast to its counterpart in the infinite width superconducting heterojunction, exhibit the different dependence on the patterned ferromagnetic interaction.     

Anisotropic pairing symmetry effect on crossed Andreev reflection in a graphene-based transistor

Crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) under the influence of anisotropic pairing symmetry is considered. It is shown that CAR is sensitive to the Fermi energy and the orientation of the gap. In addition, the oscillatory period of CAR can be not only tunable by the potential energy in the superconductor region, it also can be modulated by the length of the superconductor region. The physical origination for those phenomena has also been analyzed.     

Crossed Andreev reflection in a quantum dot coupled to a topological superconducting single-stranded DNA

We investigate the crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) through a quantum dot (QD) coupled to topological superconducting single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). It is found that the topological nontrivial states appear in the QD due to leakage of the Majorana zero mode. Majorana zero mode can be identified by measuring the CAR. This device can be used as a Majorana zero mode detector that relies on the system parameters, such as the spin orbit coupling, the twist angle, molecular length. A high efficiency Cooper pair splitter can be realized by regulating the magnitude and direction of the gate voltage. In additions, the signature of CAR is robust against the Coulomb blockade and the disorder induced by distinct amino acids. This work provides an alternative method for detection of Majorana zero mode in ssDNA.     

Properties of pseudospin polarization on a graphene-based spin singlet superconducting junction

We investigate theoretically transport characteristics in a graphene-based pseudospinmagnet/superconductor junction, including the s-wave and the d-wave pairing symmetry potential in the superconducting region. It is found that the pseudospin polarization, in sharp contrast to spin polarization in the graphene-based ferromagnet/superconductor junction, holds no influence on the specular Andreev reflection for a negligible Fermi energy. Furthermore, the Fano factor is cru-ially affected by the zero bias state. Therefore, we suggest here that the findings could shed light on the realization of graphene-based pseudospintronics devices and provide a new way to detect the specular Andreev reflection and the zero bias state in the actual experiments.     

Andreev reflection and tunneling spectrum in a superlattice of metal-superconductor junctions

The tunneling spectrum of an electron and a hole in a superlattice of NS junctions is computed using the BTK approach and the transfer matrix method. It shows sharp resonances at some energies above the superconducting gap. The sharper the resonance is the more layers the superlattice has. We find for the first time a mechanism to balance the incident and outgoing currents on the superlattice by averaging over the phase between the incident electron and the incident hole. This mechanism is more natural and physical than those in literatures.     

Nonlocal Andreev reflection and spin current in a three-terminal Aharonov--Bohm interferometer

This paper theoretically reports the nonlocal Andreev reflection and spin current in a normal metal-ferromagnetic metal-superconducting Aharonov--Bohm interferometer. It is found that the electronic current and spin current are sensitive to systematic parameters, such as the gate voltage of quantum dots and the external magnetic flux. The electronic current in the normal metal lead results from two competing processes: quasiparticle transmission and nonlocal Andreev reflection. The appearance of zero spin-up electronic current (or spin-down electronic current) signals the existence of nonlocal Andreev reflection, and the presence of zero electronic current results in the appearance of pure spin current.     

Crossed Andreev reflection in graphene normal-superconductor-normal structures with pseudo-diffusive interfaces

In this Letter graphene normal-superconductor-normal heterostructures are modeled for studying the crossed Andreev reflection. A thin layer of undoped graphene with Fermi energy at the Dirac point at is assumed the interface between superconductor layer and each normal lead. The resulting contribution of the crossed Andreev reflection to the nonlocal conductance equals that of the electron elastic cotunneling. We explain this as another figure of merit for pseudodiffusive conduction at the Dirac point of the undoped layers. Also structures with only one undoped layer at the interface between the superconductor and one of the normal leads, as well as structures in which one of the leads is ferromagnetic, show pseudodiffusive conduction at the Dirac points.     

Andreev levels in a graphene–superconductor surface

In order to consider the Dirac-like spectrum of graphene we employ the Bogoliubov de Gennes–Dirac formalism to determine the quasiparticle Andreev levels in an NS surface (normal–superconductor). The normal region is characterized by a width L while the superconducting region is semi-infinite and both regions are made of doped graphene. The quasiparticle energy spectrum is originated by the Andreev reflections that occur in the NS interface. It is shown that this spectrum depends on the width of the normal region and the Fermi energy in each region. When the Fermi energy in the normal metal is lower than the gap of the superconductor region, the spectrum is affected by specular Andreev reflections. The equation that is obtained to find the spectrum is very general and we solve it for some particular cases. We find that the energy spectrum oscillates when the Fermi energy in graphene is changed. Finally we obtain under some approximations an equation for the energy spectrum which is similar in structure as those obtained for an INS conventional junction.     

Selective Andreev reflection tuned by magnetic barriers in graphene-superconductor hybrid junctions

We investigate the direction-dependent Andreev reflection of normal state-superconductor junctions both in monolayer and bilayer graphene with a single magnetic barrier by means of the Green?s function formalism. Such a barrier is capable of tuning the preferred angles of incidence for the Andreev retro-reflection. It enhances the specular reflection probability for certain angles of incidence in bilayer-based hybrid structures. We further study the impacts of magnetic barriers on the monolayer and bilayer hybrid structures by calculating the differential conductances within the Blonder–Tinkham–Klapwijk formula for experimental comparisons.     

Re_3W的点接触安德烈夫反射谱研究

本文通过对不同晶体结构Re_3W样品的点接触测量和对比研究,证实具有中心对称结构和非中心对称结构的Re_3W都是弱耦合Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer超导体,同时发现在两个相表面都可以形成很理想的点接触结,即电子通过界面时受到的非弹性散射很弱.将Re_3W样品置于大气环境近六个月后重新进行测量,仍然能够得到类似的结果,表明Re_3W具有很好的稳定性. Re_3W的这种优良特性,不仅可通过点接触实验得到的参数推算出Re_3W两个相的费米速度,而且提供了一种简单的方法,可以在点接触实验中利用Re_3W来印证针尖材料的费米速度和测量其自旋极化率等.作为尝试,本文用Re_3W/Ni点接触结测量了铁磁性金属Ni的自旋极化率,得到了与前人报道一致的结果.     

耦合Majorana束缚态T形双量子点中的Andreev反射

研究了连接在正常金属电极和超导电极之间的耦合Majorana束缚态(MBSs)T形双量子点结构中的Andreev反射.研究发现,对于T形双量子点结构,当入射能量等于边耦合量子点能级时Andreev反射电导出现Fano振荡,连接MBSs之后,零费米能附近出现一对新的Fano型振荡峰.如果忽略两个MBSs之间的相互作用,零费米能点的Andreev反射电导为定值1/2G_0(G_0=2e~2/h),不受量子点能级、双量子点之间耦合强度以及量子点与MBSs之间的耦合强度的影响.此外,在没有耦合MBSs的T形双量子点结构中,调节双量子点间的耦合强度可以使零费米能附近的Andreev反射电导出现由共振带向反共振带的转变,而耦合MBSs之后,又可以使反共振消失转而出现新的共振峰.     

Nonlocal Andreev reflection with Rashba spin-orbital interaction in a triple-quantum-dot ring

We theoretically studied the nonlocal Andreev reflection with Rashba spin-orbital interaction in a triple-quantumdot(QD) ring,which is introduced as Rashba spin-orbital interaction to act locally on one component quantum dot.It is found that the electronic current and spin current are sensitive to the systematic parameters.The interdot spin-flip term does not play a leading role in causing electronic and spin currents.Otherwise the spin precessing term leads to shift of the peaks of the the spin-up and spin-down electronic currents in different directions and results in the spin current.Moreover,the spin-orbital interaction suppresses the nonlocal Andreev reflection,so we cannot obtain the pure spin current.     

单轴晶体包层光纤Bragg光栅反射谱特性模拟研究

本文推导了包层为单轴各向异性晶体的光纤理想正规模特征方程, 应用中值定理, 结合Matlab的数值求解, 提出了这一超越方程的一种求解算法, 并在此基础上, 对包层为单轴各向异性材料的光纤Bragg光栅的反射谱与包层折射率关系进行了模拟分析. 模拟结果表明, k_cl 对反射谱有很大的影响, 不同的k_cl 可以导致不同的光栅反射率和Bragg波长.     

Resonant Andreev reflection in a normal-metal/quantum-dot/superconductor system with coupled Majorana bound states

Andreev reflection(AR) in a normal-metal/quantum-dot/superconductor(N–QD–S) system with coupled Majorana bound states(MBSs) is investigated theoretically. We find that in the N–QD–S system, the AR can be enhanced when coupling to the MBSs is incorporated. Fano line-shapes can be observed in the AR conductance spectrum when there is an appropriate QD–MBS coupling or MBS–MBS coupling. The AR conductance is always e~2/2h at the zero Fermi energy point when only QD–MBSs coupling is considered. In addition, the resonant AR occurs when the MBS–MBS coupling roughly equals to the QD energy level. We also find that an AR antiresonance appears when the QD energy level approximately equals to the sum of the QD–MBS coupling and the MBS–MBS coupling. These features may serve as characteristic signatures for the probe of MBSs.     

Andreev reflection current through a molecule quantum dot in the presence of the electron-phonon interaction and the spin-flip scattering

With the aid of the nonequilibrium Green's function and the Lang-Firsov canonical transformation, we investigate the joint effects of a phononic environment and the spin-flip scattering on the Andreev reflection (AR) in a ferromagnet/single-molecular quantum dot/superconductor (FM/MQD/SC) system. In the presence of the strong electron-phonon interaction (EPI), it is found that the EPI strongly suppresses the AR current (called the Franck-Condon blockade). When the coherent spin-flip (similar to a transverse magnetic field) is taken into account within the MQD, the AR current is significantly enhanced, furthermore, the spin-polarized AR current or even the pure spin-polarized AR current can be generated. By tuning the system parameters, the amplitude and direction of the AR current can be changed, this provides an efficient mechanism for controlling the AR process.     

Crossed Andreev reflection in graphene-based ferromagnet-superconductor structures

We report a theoretical investigation of the spin-polarized transport of relativistic electrons through a three-terminal graphene-based superconductor bipolar transistor with ferromagnetic leads. It is found that the magnetoresistance in such a system can be improved largely in comparison with that in the corresponding two-terminal structure due to the existence of the special crossed Andreev reflection, which is quite different from that in the conventional three-terminal ferromagnet-superconductor devices. The physical origination for such a phenomenon has also been analyzed. We also find that the non-local conductivity can not only exhibit different feature for parallel and antiparallel alignment, it is also easily tuned by the external magnetic field and the bias voltage.     

Enhancement of subgap conductance in a graphene superconductor junction by valley polarization

We theoretically study the differential conductance of a graphene/graphene superconductor junction, where the valley polarization of Dirac electrons is considered in the nonsuperconducting region. It is shown that the subgap conductance will increase monotonically with the valley-polarization strength when the chemical potential μ is near the Dirac point μ≤ 3?(? is the superconducting gap), whereas it will decrease monotonically when μ is far away from the Dirac point, μ≥ 5?.The former case is induced by the specular Andreev reflection while the retro-reflection accounts for the later result. Our findings may shed light on the control of conductance of a graphene superconductor junction by valley polarization.     

Tunneling conductance in graphene-based normal metal-insulator-superconductor junctions

Based on the transfer-matrix method, we have investigated the coherent quantum transport in a graphene-based normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NG/IG/SG) junctions, in the limit of a thin barrier. It is found that the conductance spectra of such system, in contrast to a π periodic oscillatory behavior is shown for aligned Fermi surfaces of the normal and superconducting regions, exhibit a new π/2 periodic oscillatory behavior as a function of barrier strength (χ) for a large Fermi surface mismatch.     

Suppression of Andreev conductance in a topological insulator–superconductor nanostep junction

When two three-dimensional topological insulators(TIs) are brought close to each other with their surfaces aligned,the surfaces form a line junction. Similarly, three TI surfaces, not lying in a single plane, can form an atomic-scale nanostep junction. In this paper, Andreev reflection in a TI–TI–superconductor nanostep junction is investigated theoretically. Because of the existence of edge states along each line junction, the conductance for a nanostep junction is suppressed. When the incident energy(ε) of an electron is larger than the superconductor gap(?), the Andreev conductance in a step junction is less than unity while for a plane junction it is unity. The Andreev conductance is found to depend on the height of the step junction. The Andreev conductance exhibits oscillatory behavior as a function of the junction height with the amplitude of the oscillations remaining unchanged when ε = 0, but decreasing for ε = ?, which is different from the case of the plane junction. The height of the step is therefore an important parameter for Andreev reflection in nanostep junctions, and plays a role similar to that of the delta potential barrier in normal metal–superconductor plane junctions.