Waiting times of entangled electrons in normal–superconducting junctions

We consider a normal–superconducting junction in order to investigate the effect of new physical ingredients on waiting times. First, we study the interplay between Andreev and specular scattering at the interface on the distribution of waiting times of electrons or holes separately. In that case the distribution is not altered dramatically compared to the case of a single quantum channel with a quantum point contact since the interface acts as an Andreev mirror for holes. We then consider a fully entangled state originating from splitting of Cooper pairs at the interface and demonstrate a significant enhancement of the probability to detect two consecutive electrons in a short time interval. Finally, we discuss the electronic waiting time distribution in the more realistic situation of partial entanglement.     

Elementary Andreev processes in a driven superconductor–normal metal contact

We investigate the full counting statistics of a voltage-driven normal metal(N)–superconductor(S) contact. In the low-bias regime below the superconducting gap, the NS contact can be mapped onto a purely normal contact, albeit with doubled voltage and counting fields. Hence in this regime the transport characteristics can be obtained by the corresponding substitution of the normal metal results. The elementary processes are single Andreev transfers and electron- and hole-like Andreev transfers. Considering Lorentzian voltage pulses we find an optimal quantization for half-integer Levitons.     

Triplet pairing states with equal spins in ferromagnet/superconductor heterojunctions for noncollinear magnetizations

Four-component Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations are applied to study tunneling conductance spectra of ferromagnet/ferromagnet/d-wave superconductor (F₁/F₂/d-wave S) tunnel junctions and to find out signs of spin-triplet pairing correlations induced in the proximity structure. The pairing correlations with equal spins arises from the novel Andreev reflection (AR), which requires at least three factors: the usual AR at the F₂/S interface, spin flip in the F₂ layer, and superconducting coherence kept up in the F₂ layer. Effects of angle α between magnetizations of the two F layers, polarizations of the F₁ and F₂ layers, the thickness of the F₂ layer, and the orientation of the d-wave S crystal on the tunneling conductance are investigated. A conversion from a zero-bias conductance dip at α = 0 to a zero-bias conductance peak at a certain value of α can be seen as a sign of generated spin-triplet correlations.     

Dephasing of Andreev pairs entering a charge density wave

A Cooper pair from a s-wave superconductor (S) entering a conventional charge density wave (CDW) below the Peierls gap dephases on the Fermi wavelength while one particle states are localized on the CDW coherence length ξ_CDW. It is thus practically impossible to observe a Josephson current through a CDW. The paths following different sequences of impurities interfere destructively, due to the different electron and hole densities in the CDW. The same conclusion holds for averaging over the conduction channels in the ballistic system. We apply two microscopic approaches to this phenomenon: (i) a Blonder, Tinkham, Klapwijk (BTK) approach for a single highly transparent S-CDW interface; and (ii) the Hamiltonian approach for the Josephson effect in a clean CDW and a CDW with non magnetic disorder. The Josephson effect through a spin density wave (SDW) is limited by the coherence length ξ_SDW, not by the Fermi wave-length. A Josephson current through a SDW might be observed in a structure with contacts on a SDW separated by a distance ξ_SDW.     

Effect of Intra-Dot Coulomb Interaction on Andreev Reflection in Normal-Metal/Quantum-Dot/Superconductor System

We investigate the effect of intra-dot Coulomb interaction on the Andreev reflection in a normalmetal/quantum-dot/superconductor (N-QD-S) system with multiple levels in the quantum dot, in the regime where the intra-dot interacting constant is comparable to the energy gap of superconducting lead. By using nonequilibrium Green function method, the averaged occupation of electrons in the quantum dot and the Andreev reflection (AR) current are studied. Comparing to the case of non-interacting quantum dot, the system shows significant changes for the a two-step-like behavior; and the I-Vg shows two groups of peaks, separated by U and with equal heights, where Vg is the gate voltage and U denotes the intra-dot Coulomb interaction constant. (ii) For finite bias voltage, dips, superposed V ≥ U/2, extra AR current peaks occur between the two groups of the peaks. Besides, the properties of the heights of the AR current peaks are more complicated.``     

A possible origin of room temperature ferromagnetism in Indium-Tin oxide thin film: Surface spin polarization and ferromagnetism

Room temperature ferromagnetism in both transition-metals doped and undoped semiconductor thin films and nanostructures challenges our understanding of the magnetism in solids. In this report, we performed the magnetic measurement and Andreev reflection spectroscopy study on undoped Indium-Tin oxide (ITO) thin films and bulk samples. The magnetic measurement results of thin films show that the total magnetization/cm² is thickness independent. Prominent ferromagnetism signal was also discovered in bulk samples. Spin polarized electron transports were probed on ITO thin film/superconductor interface and bulk samples surface/superconductor interface. Based on the magnetic measurement results and spin polarization measurement data, we propose that the ferromagnetism in this material originates from the surface spin polarization and this surface polarization may also explain the room temperature ferromagnetism discovered in other undoped oxide semiconductor thin films and nanostructures.     

Tunable supercurrent in a parallel double quantum dot system

The supercurrent through an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer containing two parallel quantum dots connected with two superconductor leads is investigated theoretically. The possibility of controlling the supercurrent is explored by tuning the quantum dot energy levels and the total magnetic flux. By tuning the energy levels, both quantum dots can be in the on-resonance or off-resonance states, and thus the optimal modulation of the supercurrent can be achieved. The supercurrent sign does not change by simply varying the quantum dot energy levels. However, by tuning the magnetic flux, the supercurrent can oscillate from positive to negative, which results in the π-junction transition.     

Spin transistor and quantum spin Hall-effects in CdBxF2−x–p-CdF2–CdBxF2−x sandwich nanostructures

Planar CdB_xF_2−x–p-CdF₂–CdB_xF_2−x sandwich nanostructures prepared on the surface of the n-type CdF₂ bulk crystal are studied to register the spin transistor and quantum spin Hall-effects. The current–voltage characteristics of the ultra-shallow p⁺–n junctions verify the CdF₂ gap, 7.8 eV, and the quantum subbands of the 2D holes in the p-type CdF₂ quantum well confined by the CdB_xF_2−xδ-barriers. The temperature and magnetic field dependencies of the resistance, specific heat and magnetic susceptibility demonstrate the high temperature superconductor properties for the CdB_xF_2−xδ-barriers. The value of the superconductor energy gap, 2Δ = 102.06 meV, determined by the tunneling spectroscopy method appears to be in a good agreement with the relationship between the zero-resistance supercurrent in superconductor state and the conductance in normal state, πΔ/e, at the energies of the 2D hole subbands. The results obtained are evidence of the important role of the multiple Andreev reflections in the creation of the high spin polarization of the 2D holes in the edged channels of the sandwich device. The high spin hole polarization in the edged channels is shown to identify the mechanism of the spin transistor and quantum spin Hall-effects induced by varying the top gate voltage, which is revealed by the first observation of the Hall quantum conductance staircase.     

Negative differential conductance in nano-scale normal metal/superconductor/normal metal junctions featuring Fe1 + y Te1 − x Se x

Iron-based superconductors have been the subject of intensive study due to their high transition temperature and intriguing physical mechanisms. We describe a unique experimental approach to fabricate nano-scale normal metal/superconductor/normal metal junctions involving microcrystals of Fe₁ ?₊?_y Te₁ ?_??_x Se _x , for which we have observed a distinct phenomenon of negative differential conductance (NDC) dips along with multiple plateau features in differential conductance spectra. The evolution of the NDC dips and the plateau features is further explored as a function of both temperature and magnetic field, and their physical origin is discussed.     

Charge transport through ferromagnet/two-dimensional electron gas/d-wave superconductor junctions with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

Along the lines of Blonder, Tinkham and Klapwijk, we investigate the charge transport through ferromagnet/two-dimensional electronic gas/d-wave superconductor (F/2DEG/S) junctions in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling and focus our attention on the interplay between spin polarization and spin precession. At zero spin polarization, the spin-mixing scattering resulted from Rashba SO coupling decreases the zero-bias conductance peak. Under spin polarization, spin precession introduces novel Andreev reflection, which competes with the effect of spin-mixing scattering. If the F layer is a half metal, the later effect is overwhelmed by that of novel Andreev reflection. As a result, the zero-bias conductance dip caused by spin polarization is enhanced, and at strong Rashba SO coupling, a split zero-bias peak is found in the gap. In an intermediate region where the two effects are comparable with each other, the zero-bias conductance shows a reentrant behavior as a function of Rashba SO coupling.