Superconducting, Insulating, and Anomalous Metallic Regimes in a Gated Two-Dimensional Semiconductor-Superconductor Array

The superconductor-insulator transition in two dimensions has been widely investigated as a paradigmatic quantum phase transition. The topic remains controversial, however, because many experiments exhibit a metallic regime with saturating low-temperature resistance, at odds with conventional theory...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2017-12
Main Authors: Bøttcher, C G L, Nichele, F, Kjaergaard, M, Suominen, H J, Shabani, J, Palmstrøm, C J, Marcus, C M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Heterostructures
Low temperature resistance
Phase transitions
Quantum wells
Scaling
Superconductivity
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The superconductor-insulator transition in two dimensions has been widely investigated as a paradigmatic quantum phase transition. The topic remains controversial, however, because many experiments exhibit a metallic regime with saturating low-temperature resistance, at odds with conventional theory. Here, we explore this transition in a novel, highly controllable system, a semiconductor heterostructure with epitaxial Al, patterned to form a regular array of superconducting islands connected by a gateable quantum well. Spanning nine orders of magnitude in resistance, the system exhibits regimes of superconducting, metallic, and insulating behavior, along with signatures of flux commensurability and vortex penetration. An in-plane magnetic field eliminates the metallic regime, restoring the direct superconductor-insulator transition, and improves scaling, while strongly altering the scaling exponent.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1711.01451