Studies on the origin of the interfacial superconductivity of Sb2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructures

TL;DR

This study investigates the interfacial superconductivity in Sb2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructures, revealing how Fe concentration and TI-layer thickness influence superconducting properties and the interplay with antiferromagnetic order and topological surface states.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effects of Fe concentration and TI-layer thickness on interfacial superconductivity in Sb2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructures, expanding understanding beyond previous Bi2Te3-based systems.

Findings

Reducing Fe excess enhances superconductivity and AFM fluctuations.

Wider TI-layer thickness range supports interfacial SC due to Sb2Te3's high bulk conductivity.

Interplay among AFM order, topological surface states, and superconductivity is evidenced.

Abstract

The recent discovery of the interfacial superconductivity (SC) of the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructure has attracted extensive studies due to its potential as a novel platform for trapping and controlling Majorana fermions. Here we present studies of another topological insulator (TI)/Fe1+yTe heterostructure, Sb2Te3/Fe1+yTe, which also enjoys an interfacial two-dimensional SC. The results of transport measurements support that the reduction of excess Fe concentration of the Fe1+yTe layer not only increases the fluctuation of its antiferromagnetic (AFM) order but also enhances the quality of the SC of this heterostructure system. On the other hand, the interfacial SC of this heterostructure was found to have a wider-ranging TI-layer thickness dependence than that of the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructure, which is believed to be attributed to the much higher bulk conductivity of Sb2Te3 that enhances indirect coupling between its top and bottom topological surface states (TSSs). Our results provide the evidence of the interplay among the AFM order, itinerant carries from the TSSs and the induced interfacial SC of the TI/Fe1+yTe heterostructure system.