Superconducting Contacts to a Monolayer Semiconductor

Nano Lett. 2021 Jul 14;21(13):5614-5619. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00615. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Abstract

We demonstrate superconducting vertical interconnect access (VIA) contacts to a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a layered semiconductor with highly relevant electronic and optical properties. As a contact material we use MoRe, a superconductor with a high critical magnetic field and high critical temperature. The electron transport is mostly dominated by a single superconductor/normal conductor junction with a clear superconductor gap. In addition, we find MoS2 regions that are strongly coupled to the superconductor, resulting in resonant Andreev tunneling and junction-dependent gap characteristics, suggesting a superconducting proximity effect. Magnetoresistance measurements show that the bandstructure and the high intrinsic carrier mobility remain intact in the bulk of the MoS2. This type of VIA contact is applicable to a large variety of layered materials and superconducting contacts, opening up a path to monolayer semiconductors as a platform for superconducting hybrid devices.

Keywords: MoS2; TMDC; monolayer semiconductor; superconducting contacts; superconducting proximity effect; van der Waals heterostructure.