Prediction of superconducting transition temperatures of heterostructures based on the quasiparticle spectrum

In this paper we present material specific calculations of superconductor-normal metal heterostructures using density functional theory combined with a semiphenomenological parametrization of the electron-phonon coupling. In particular, we calculate the quasiparticle spectrum of different normal met...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B 2016-09, Vol.94 (10), Article 104511
Main Authors: Csire, Gábor, Cserti, József, Tüttő, István, Újfalussy, Balázs
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed matter
Coupling
Density functional theory
Heterostructures
Lead (metal)
Mathematical models
Superconductivity
Transition temperature
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Summary:In this paper we present material specific calculations of superconductor-normal metal heterostructures using density functional theory combined with a semiphenomenological parametrization of the electron-phonon coupling. In particular, we calculate the quasiparticle spectrum of different normal metal overlayers on a Nb(100) host. We find that the Andreev reflection leads to the formation of momentum dependent quasiparticle bands in the normal metal. As a consequence, the spectrum has a strongly momentum dependent induced gap. We develop a model to calculate the superconducting critical temperature from the thickness dependence of the induced gap. In the case of Au/Nb(100) heterostructures we find very good agreement with experiments. Moreover, predictions are made for similar heterostructures of other compounds.
ISSN:2469-9950
2469-9969
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.94.104511