Anomalous superconductivity in twisted MoTe<sub>2</sub> nanojunctions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39879306.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adq5712 and PMC identifier 11777181.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Introducing superconductivity in topological materials can lead to innovative electronic phases and device functionalities. Here, we present a unique strategy for quantum engineering of superconducting junctions in moiré materials through direct, on-chip, and fully encapsulated 2D crystal growth. We achieve robust and designable superconductivity in Pd-metalized twisted bilayer molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe<sub>2</sub>) and observe anomalous superconducting effects in high-quality junctions across ~20 moiré cells. Unexpectedly, the junction develops enhanced, instead of weakened, superconducting behaviors, exhibiting fluctuations to a higher critical magnetic field compared to its adjacent Pd<sub>7</sub>MoTe<sub>2</sub> superconductor. In addition, the critical current further exhibits a notable V-shaped minimum at zero magnetic field. These features are unexpected in conventional Josephson junctions and absent in junctions of natural bilayer MoTe<sub>2</sub> created using the same approach. We discuss implications of these observations, including the possible formation of mixed even- and odd-parity superconductivity at the moiré junctions. Our results also demonstrate a pathway to engineer and investigate superconductivity in fractional Chern insulators.