Quantifying proximity-induced superconductivity from first-principles calculations

TL;DR

This paper presents a method combining electron tunneling approximation with first-principles calculations to quantitatively analyze proximity-induced superconductivity at interfaces, exemplified by graphene-Zn heterostructures.

Contribution

It introduces a hybrid approach that integrates tunneling approximation with first-principles calculations for detailed superconductivity analysis.

Findings

The hybrid method accurately characterizes proximity-induced superconductivity.

Superconductivity is significantly influenced by interfacial atomic structure.

Comparison with Eliashberg formalism validates the approximation.

Abstract

Proximity induced superconductivity with a clean interface has attracted much attention in recent years. We discuss how the commonly-employed electron tunneling approximation can be hybridized with first-principles calculation to achieve a quantitative characterization starting from the microscopic atomic structure. By using the graphene-Zn heterostructure as an example, we compare this approximated treatment to the full \textit{ab inito} anisotropic Eliashberg formalism. Based on the calculation results, we discuss how superconductivity is affected by the interfacial environment.