Unconventional proximity-induced superconductivity in bilayer systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex superconducting states induced in bilayer systems with various interactions, revealing diverse pairing symmetries, including odd-frequency and interlayer pairings, relevant for topological and quantum well materials.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of proximity-induced superconductivity in bilayers, incorporating spin-orbit coupling, tunneling, bias, and magnetic fields, uncovering novel pairing phenomena.

Findings

Induction of equal-spin triplet $p_x\u00b1 ip_y$ pairing with spin-orbit coupling.

Appearance of odd-frequency, opposite-spin $s$-wave pairing under magnetic field.

Possibility of sign reversal of order parameters between layers and Fermi surfaces.

Abstract

We study the proximity-induced superconducting state in a general bilayer -- conventional $s$-wave superconductor hybrid structure. For the bilayer we include a general parabolic dispersion, Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and finite layer tunneling as well as the possibility to apply a bias potential and a magnetic Zeeman field, in order to address experimentally relevant bilayer systems, ranging from topological insulator thin films to generic double quantum well systems. By extracting the proximity-induced anomalous Green's function in the bilayer we show on a very rich structure for the superconducting pairing, including different spin states and odd-frequency pairing. Equal-spin spin-triplet $p_x\pm ip_y$-wave pairing is induced in both layers in the presence of a finite spin-orbit coupling and opposite-spin spin-triplet $s$-wave pairing with odd-frequency dependence appears for an applied magnetic Zeeman field. Finite interlayer pairing is also generally present in the bilayer. The interlayer pairing can be either even or odd in the layer index, with a complete reciprocity between parity in frequency and in layer index. We also find that a bilayer offers the possibility of sign reversal of the superconducting order parameters, both between the two layers and between multiple Fermi surfaces.