posted on 2022-01-06, 23:04authored byDenis
S. Baranov, Sergio Vlaic, Jonathan Baptista, Enrico Cofler, Vasily S. Stolyarov, Dimitri Roditchev, Stéphane Pons
Atomically thin superconductivity
in Pb monolayers grown on Si(111)
is affected by adding a tiny amount of Au atoms. In situ macroscopic
electron transport measurements reveal that superconductivity develops
at higher temperatures and manifests a sharper superconducting transition
to zero resistance as compared to pristine Pb/Si(111). Scanning tunneling
microscopy and spectroscopy show that Au atoms decorate atomic step
edges of Pb/Si(111) and link the electronic reservoirs of neighboring
atomic terraces. The propagation of superconducting correlations across
the edges is enhanced, facilitating the coherence between terraces
and promoting macroscopic superconductivity at higher temperatures.
This finding opens new ways to design and control Josephson junctions
at the atomic scale.