PbTe/SnTe heterostructures -- candidate platform for studying spin-triplet superconductivity

TL;DR

This study investigates PbTe/SnTe heterostructures as a promising platform for spin-triplet superconductivity, providing experimental evidence and theoretical analysis supporting topological p-wave pairing.

Contribution

It offers the first experimental confirmation of strain-induced topological superconductivity in PbTe/SnTe heterostructures using spectroscopy and critical field analysis.

Findings

Evidence of spin-triplet pairing from spectroscopy

Analysis consistent with p-wave electron pairing model

Supports strain-induced topological superconductivity predictions

Abstract

This paper explores the potential for spin-triplet superconductivity in molecular beam epitaxy grown PbTe/SnTe semiconductor heterostructures. We present convincing evidence for spin-triplet pairing by soft point-contact spectroscopy experiments, using both spin-polarized and unpolarized electrons and additionally, by detailed analysis of the upper critical field, as inferred from the four probe resistance measurements. The experimental data are described in terms of the Anderson-Brinkman-Morel model of p-wave electron pairing. Our results confirm the predictions on strain-induced topological superconductivity by E.Tang and L. Fu (Nature Physics, 10, 964, 2014).