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Two-step growth of high-quality Nb/(Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3/Nb heterostructures for topological Josephson junctions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2018

Hui Zhang ,
Xiaodong Ma ,
Lin Li ,
Deler Langenberg ,
Chang Gan Zeng  and
Guo Xing Miao
Hui Zhang
Affiliation:
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale (HFNL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; and National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Xiaodong Ma
Affiliation:
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale (HFNL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
Lin Li
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
Deler Langenberg
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
Chang Gan Zeng
Affiliation:
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale (HFNL), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Guo Xing Miao*
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: guo-xing.miao@uwaterloo.ca
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Abstract

The topological insulator/superconductor heterostructure is one of the most promising platforms to create and manipulate Majorana bound states. Here, we used molecular beam epitaxy to grow high-quality (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 films on Nb surfaces. To promote proper (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 film nucleation in the early growth stage, we developed a two-step growth method. Bi, Sb, and Te clusters were first evaporated at a low temperature of 180 °C, which is below the typical growth temperature and then annealed to form a crystalized passivation layer. Second, a standard (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 film was grown under the normal deposition temperature of 280 °C. We used reflection high-energy electron diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction to further characterize the (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 film and passivation layer quality. Finally, the top Nb film was laid down by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The hetero-Nb/epitaxial (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3/Nb stacks were further fabricated into micro-Josephson junctions and showed clear Josephson currents demonstrating an excellent material quality.

Keywords

molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)nucleation & growthsuperconducting
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 33 , Issue 16 , 28 August 2018 , pp. 2423 - 2433
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018 

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