Unusual giant magnetoresistance effect in heterojunction structure of ultra-thin single-crystal Pb film on silicon substrate

TL;DR

This paper reports an unusual giant magnetoresistance effect observed in ultra-thin single-crystal Pb films on silicon, highlighting potential for integrating superconducting devices with existing semiconductor technology.

Contribution

It demonstrates the growth of atomically uniform single-crystal Pb films on Si and reveals a novel magnetoresistance effect in superconductor-semiconductor heterojunctions.

Findings

Observation of giant magnetoresistance in superconducting Pb films

Compatibility of the heterostructure with silicon technology

Potential for integrated superconducting circuits

Abstract

Superconductor films on semiconductor substrates draw much attention recently since the derived superconductor-based electronics have been shown promising for future data process and storage technologies. By growing atomically uniform single-crystal epitaxial Pb films of several nanometers thick on Si wafers to form a sharp superconductor-semiconductor heterojunction, we have obtained an unusual giant magnetoresistance effect when the Pb film is superconducting. In addition to the great fundamental interest of this effect, the simple structure and compatibility and scalability with current Si-based semiconductor technology offer a great opportunity for integrating superconducting circuits and detectors in a single chip.