517 research outputs found
Superconducting nanobridges under magnetic fields
We report on the study of superconducting nanotips and nanobridges of lead
with a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope in tunnel and point contact regimes. We
deal with three different structures. A nanotip that remains superconducting
under a field of 2 T. For this case we present model calculations of the order
parameter, which are in good agreement with the experiments. An asymmetric
nanobridge of lead showing a two steps loss of the Andreev excess current due
to different heating and dissipation phenomena in each side of the structure. A
study of the effect of the thermal fluctuations on the Josephson coupling
between the two sides of a superconducting nanobridge submitted to magnetic
fields. The different experiments were made under magnetic fields up to twenty
five times the volume critical field of lead, and in a temperature range
between 0.6 K and 7.2 K.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Topological superconductivity in lead nanowires
Superconductors with an odd number of bands crossing the Fermi energy have
topologically protected Andreev states at interfaces, including Majorana states
in one dimensional geometries. Superconductivity, a low number of 1D channels,
large spin orbit coupling, and a sizeable Zeeman energy, are present in lead
nanowires produced by nanoindentation of a Pb tip on a Pb substrate, in
magnetic fields higher than the Pb bulk critical field. A number of such
devices have been analyzed. In some of them, the dependence of the critical
current on magnetic field, and the Multiple Andreev Reflections observed at
finite voltages, are compatible with the existence of topological
superconductivity
Tunneling spectroscopy of the superconducting state of URu2Si2
We present measurements of the superconducting gap of URuSi made with
scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) using a superconducting tip of Al. We find
tunneling conductance curves with a finite value at the Fermi level. The
density of states is V shaped at low energies, and the quasiparticle peaks are
located at values close to the expected superconducting gap from weak coupling
BCS theory. Our results point to rather opened gap structures and gap nodes on
the Fermi surface
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