Proximity-induced high-temperature superconductivity in topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3

TL;DR

This study demonstrates proximity-induced high-temperature superconductivity in topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 at temperatures up to 80K using a novel mechanical bonding technique, advancing potential applications in quantum technologies.

Contribution

Developed a new mechanical bonding method to create high-quality superconductor-topological insulator junctions, achieving superconductivity at unprecedented temperatures.

Findings

Superconductivity persists up to 80K in Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3.

Induced superconducting gap reaches 10mV.

High-quality junctions enable exploration of high-temperature proximity effects.

Abstract

Interest in the superconducting proximity effect has been reinvigorated recently by novel optoelectronic applications as well as by the possible emergence of the elusive Majorana fermion at the interface between topological insulators and superconductors. Here we produce high-temperature superconductivity in Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 via proximity to Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta}, in order to access increasing temperature and energy scales for this phenomenon. This was achieved by a new mechanical bonding technique we developed, enabling the fabrication of high-quality junctions between materials, unobtainable by conventional approaches. We observe proximity-induced superconductivity in Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 persisting up to at least 80K, a temperature an order of magnitude higher than any previous observations. Moreover, the induced superconducting gap in our devices reaches values of 10mV, significantly enhancing the relevant energy scales. Our results open new directions for fundamental studies in condensed matter physics and enable a wide range of applications in spintronics and quantum computing.