Mesoscopic Phases in Superconducting Electron Systems

Mesoscopic Phases in Superconducting Electron Systems
Author: Philip Adam Kratz
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN:

This thesis explores the conditions under which topological and other exotic superconducting phases may develop and their relationships to disorder and transmission modes in mesoscopic systems, where quantum coherence effects are relevant. First, building on Ginzburg-Landau effective field theory and a London equations phenomenological model for spatially inhomogeneous superconductors with anisotropic order parameters, I discuss experimental resolution limits for scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) susceptometry applied to superconductors exhibiting spatial structure on the scale of the coherence length. Resolution limits in the presence of structural disorder are quantified with theoretical analysis and experimental susceptometry measurements on controlled, nanofabricated hole array structures in niobium films. I discuss potential applications to experimental studies of electronic phase separation and structural disorder in unconventional superconductors and strongly correlated electron systems. Next, I discuss local susceptibility measurements on few-quintuple layer ternary 3D topological insulator (TI) bismuth selenide superconductor bilayers with niobium films. These measurements are motivated by predictions of pairing between helical Dirac carriers in the two-dimensional surface electron gas that lead to emergent properties such as supersymmetry and Majorana quasiparticles. We observe both local suppression and enhancement of diamagnetic susceptibility and critical temperature, which is consistent with structural and lattice disorder in the superconducting films. I discuss several implications for experimental susceptibility measurements of 3D TI NS bilayers using numerical solutions to semiclassical Usadel differential equations in the dirty-limit for superconductor-normal bilayers based on the Eilenberger-Larkin-Ovchinikov approximation. The final part of this dissertation discusses recent measurements of current-phase relations in SNS Josephson junctions on graphene-hBN Van der Waals heterostructures in finite magnetic fields, where we have observed anomalous phase shifts in the current-phase relations near the Dirac point. At the time of this writing, these effects are still not well understood. Our observations appear to be consistent with $\varphi_0$-junction behavior, recently observed in semiconductor quantum dot systems with large spin-orbit coupling, which is indicative of time-reversal and chiral symmetry breaking effects. Qualitatively similar phase shifts have also been observed in magnetoconductance measurements on these devices in the quantum Hall regime by our collaborators, but at much higher magnetic fields ($B> 1$ T). In our measurements at lower fields, this suggests that mixing between electron and hole modes may occur through delocalized states in the ballistic junctions, rather than strictly through scattering in quantum Hall edge states. Broadly, the results presented in this work hopefully will provide a basis for advancing future theoretical and experimental work towards understanding the interplay between topological phases and superconductivity in engineered quantum nanostructures and quantum materials.

Mesoscopic Electron Transport

Mesoscopic Electron Transport
Author: Lydia L. Sohn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 680
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401588392

Ongoing developments in nanofabrication technology and the availability of novel materials have led to the emergence and evolution of new topics for mesoscopic research, including scanning-tunnelling microscopic studies of few-atom metallic clusters, discrete energy level spectroscopy, the prediction of Kondo-type physics in the transport properties of quantum dots, time dependent effects, and the properties of interacting systems, e.g. of Luttinger liquids. The overall understanding of each of these areas is still incomplete; nevertheless, with the foundations laid by studies in the more traditional systems there is no doubt that these new areas will advance mesoscopic electron transport to a new phenomenological level, both experimentally and theoretically. Mesoscopic Electron Transport highlights selected areas in the field, provides a comprehensive review of such systems, and also serves as an introduction to the new and developing areas of mesoscopic electron transport.

Quantum Phenomena in Mesoscopic Systems

Quantum Phenomena in Mesoscopic Systems
Author: B. Altshuler
Publisher: IOS Press
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2004-01-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1614990077

This book is a snapshot of the vision shared by outstanding scientists on the key theoretical and experimental issues in Mesoscopic Physics. Quantum properties of electrons in solid state devices and transport in semiconducting and superconducting low-dimensional systems, are discussed, as well as the basis of quantum computing (entanglement, noise decoherence and read-out). Each chapter collects the material presented at a Varenna School course of last year, by leading experts in the field. The reader gets a flavor, how theorists and experimentalists are paving the way to the physical realization of solid state qubits, the basic units of the new logic and memory elements for quantum processing. He will be surprised in finding that mesoscopic solid state devices, which were invented just yesterday ( think of the Single Electron Transistor, or the Cooper Pair Box) are currently used as charge-sensing applications in the equipment of frontier research laboratories. These devices contribute as probing systems to produce evidence on still unsettled questions in topics like the metal-insulator transition in disordered two dimensional systems, quantum Hall conductance in heterostructures, or Kondo conductance in quantum dots.

Toward The Controllable Quantum States: Mesoscopic Superconductivity And Spintronics

Toward The Controllable Quantum States: Mesoscopic Superconductivity And Spintronics
Author: Hideaki Takayanagi
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2003-03-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814487465

The realizations of physical systems whose quantum states can be directly manipulated have been pursued for experiments on fundamental problems in quantum mechanics and implementations of quantum information devices. Micro-fabricated superconducting systems and electronic spins are among the most promising candidates. This book contains the newest and most advanced research reports on such materials, called “Mesoscopic Superconductivity” and “Spintronics”. The former includes superconductor-semiconductor hybrid systems, very small Josephson junctions, and micron-size SQUIDs. The latter includes the control of spin transports in semiconductor heterostructures, nano-scale quantum dots, and spin injections. Superconductor-ferromagnetic metal hybrid structures are covered by both of the topics.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)

Quantum Mesoscopic Phenomena and Mesoscopic Devices in Microelectronics

Quantum Mesoscopic Phenomena and Mesoscopic Devices in Microelectronics
Author: Igor O. Kulik
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401143277

Quantum mechanical laws are well documented at the level of a single or a few atoms and are here extended to systems containing 102 to 1010 electrons - still much smaller than the usual macroscopic objects, but behaving in a manner similar to a single atom. Besides the purely theoretical interest, such systems pose a challenge to the achievement of the ultimate microelectronic applications. The present volume presents an up-to-date account of the physics, technology and expected applications of quantum effects in solid-state mesoscopic structures. Physical phenomena include the Aharonov-Bohm effect, persistent currents, Coulomb blockade and Coulomb oscillations in single electron devices, Andreev reflections and the Josephson effect in superconductor/normal/superconductor systems, shot noise suppression in microcontacts and contact resistance quantisation, and overall quantum coherence in mesoscopic and nanoscopic structures related to the emerging physics of quantum computation in the solid-state environment.

Mesoscopic Quantum Hall Effect

Mesoscopic Quantum Hall Effect
Author: Ivan Levkivskyi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2012-08-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642304990

In recent years, remarkable progress in the fabrication of novel mesoscopic devices has produced a revival of interest in quantum Hall physics. New types of measurements, more precise and efficient than ever, have made it possible to focus closely on the electronic properties of quantum Hall edge states. This is achieved by applying charge and heat currents at mesoscopic length scales, attaching metallic gates and Ohmic contacts, and splitting edge channels with the help of quantum point contacts. The experiments reveal fascinating new phenomena, such as the interference, statistics, and topological phase shifts of fractionally charged quasi-particles, strong interaction and correlation effects, and phase transitions induced by non-Gaussian fluctuations. The thesis discusses some puzzling results of these experiments and presents a coherent picture of mesoscopic effects in quantum Hall systems, which accounts for integer and fractional filling factors and ranges from microscopic theory to effective models, and covers both equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena.

Mesoscopic Physics Meets Quantum Engineering

Mesoscopic Physics Meets Quantum Engineering
Author: Shevchenko Sergey N
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2019-07-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811201412

Quantum mechanics was initially constructed to describe objects on atomic and subatomic scales. However, in the last decades, quantum mechanics has been revisited and its use extended to the study and description of macroscopic distinct states. This is accomplished by modeling basic objects of mesoscopic physics, such as superconducting quantum circuits and low-dimensional structures derived from a two-dimensional electronic gas. In recent years, these devices support the study of fundamental systems such as a two-level quantum system, or qubit, as an object for manipulations and applications. This book will provide an introduction to quantum computation and quantum information, based on quantum physics, solid-state theory, and theory of computing. We will become familiar with this important field and explore how it is inseparably linked to basic notions of physics such as superposition, entanglement, and quantum dynamics. Then we will consider superconducting and mesoscopic systems, as well as a series of phenomena, where important are the spectra quantization, interference, and charge discreteness.This book derives its content from a lecture course designed for graduate students and postdocs who are acquainted with quantum mechanics and statistical physics. In particular, it was developed together with the lecture series taught to 5th year students of the Department of Physics and Technology in V N Karazin Kharkiv National University.

Quantum Transport in Mesoscopic Systems

Quantum Transport in Mesoscopic Systems
Author: David Sánchez
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2021-01-06
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 3039433660

Mesoscopic physics deals with systems larger than single atoms but small enough to retain their quantum properties. The possibility to create and manipulate conductors of the nanometer scale has given birth to a set of phenomena that have revolutionized physics: quantum Hall effects, persistent currents, weak localization, Coulomb blockade, etc. This Special Issue tackles the latest developments in the field. Contributors discuss time-dependent transport, quantum pumping, nanoscale heat engines and motors, molecular junctions, electron–electron correlations in confined systems, quantum thermo-electrics and current fluctuations. The works included herein represent an up-to-date account of exciting research with a broad impact in both fundamental and applied topics.