Control over epitaxy and the role of the InAs/Al interface in hybrid two-dimensional electron gas systems

TL;DR

This study investigates how the crystal structure of aluminum films affects electron transport in InAs/Al hybrid systems, demonstrating control over grain formation without degrading electronic or superconducting properties.

Contribution

It introduces a method to control Al grain boundaries via interface roughening, clarifying the impact of epitaxial texture on hybrid electron systems.

Findings

Grain boundary formation can be reduced by interface roughening.

Controlled roughening does not impair electron mobility.

Superconducting properties remain unaffected by interface modifications.

Abstract

In-situ synthesised semiconductor/superconductor hybrid structures became an important material platform in condensed matter physics. Their development enabled a plethora of novel quantum transport experiments with focus on Andreev and Majorana physics. The combination of InAs and Al has become the workhorse material and has been successfully implemented in the form of one-dimensional structures and two-dimensional electron gases. In contrast to the well-developed semiconductor parts of the hybrid materials, the direct effect of the crystal nanotexture of Al films on the electron transport still remains unclear. This is mainly due to the complex epitaxial relation between Al and the semiconductor. We present a study of Al films on shallow InAs two-dimensional electron gas systems grown by molecular beam epitaxy, with focus on control of the Al crystal structure. We identify the dominant grain types present in our Al films and show that the formation of grain boundaries can be significantly reduced by controlled roughening of the epitaxial interface. Finally, we demonstrate that the implemented roughening does not negatively impact either the electron mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas or the basic superconducting properties of the proximitized system.