Electrically tunable low-density superconductivity in a monolayer topological insulator.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30361384.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.aar4642.
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Abstract
Turning on superconductivity in a topologically nontrivial insulator may provide a route to search for non-Abelian topological states. However, existing demonstrations of superconductor-insulator switches have involved only topologically trivial systems. Here we report reversible, in situ electrostatic on-off switching of superconductivity in the recently established quantum spin Hall insulator monolayer tungsten ditelluride (WTe<sub>2</sub>). Fabricated into a van der Waals field-effect transistor, the monolayer's ground state can be continuously gate-tuned from the topological insulating to the superconducting state, with critical temperatures <i>T</i> <sub>c</sub> up to ~1 kelvin. Our results establish monolayer WTe<sub>2</sub> as a material platform for engineering nanodevices that combine superconducting and topological phases of matter.