Anisotropic superconductivity induced at a hybrid superconducting-semiconducting interface

TL;DR

This study reveals how the electronic structure at a black phosphorus and lead interface induces anisotropic modifications in superconductivity, impacting future gate-tunable superconducting devices.

Contribution

It demonstrates the significant influence of interface-derived hybrid electronic structures on superconducting properties in superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures.

Findings

Anisotropic renormalization of the superconducting gap observed.

Interface hybridization imprints semiconductor band structure on superconductor.

Theoretical modeling reproduces the experimental spectra.

Abstract

Epitaxial semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures are promising as a platform for gate-tunable superconducting electronics. Thus far, the superconducting properties in such hybrid systems have been predicted based on simplified hybridization models which neglect the electronic structure that can arise at the interface. Here, we demonstrate that the hybrid electronic structure derived at the interface between semiconducting black phosphorus and atomically thin films of lead can drastically modify the superconducting properties of the thin metallic film. Using ultra-low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we ascertain the moir\'e structure driven by the interface, and observe a strongly anisotropic renormalization of the superconducting gap and vortex structure of the lead film. Based on density functional theory, we attribute the renormalization of the superconductivity to weak hybridization at the interface where the anisotropic characteristics of the semiconductor band structure is imprinted on the Fermi surface of the superconductor. Based on a hybrid two-band model, we link this hybridization-driven renormalization to a weighting of the superconducting order parameter that quantitatively reproduces the measured spectra. These results illustrate the effect of interfacial hybridization at superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures, and pathways for engineering quantum technologies based on gate-tunable superconducting electronics.