Affiliation:
1. Applied Physics Department and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem 91905 Israel
2. Racah Institute of Physics and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jerusalem 91905 Israel
3. Department of Physics and Institute of Nanotechnology, and Advanced Materials Bar‐Ilan University Ramat Gan 5290002 Israel
4. Physics Department University Konstanz 78464 Konstanz Germany
Abstract
AbstractUnconventional superconductivity was realized in systems comprising a monolayer of magnetic adatoms adsorbed on conventional superconductors, forming Shiba‐bands. Another approach to induce unconventional superconductivity and 2D Shiba‐bands was recently introduced, namely, by adsorbing chiral molecules (ChMs) on conventional superconductors, which act in a similar way to magnetic impurities as verified by conductance spectroscopy. However, the fundamental effect ChMs have on the strength of superconductivity has not yet been directly observed and mapped. In this work, local magnetic susceptometry is applied on heterostructures comprising islands of ChMs (α‐helix L‐polyalanine) monolayers adsorbed on Nb. It is found that the ChMs alter the superconducting landscape, resulting in spatially‐modulated weaker superconductivity. Surprisingly, the reduced diamagnetic response is located along the perimeter of the islands with respect to both their interior and the bare Nb. The authors suggest that topological edge‐states forming at the edges are the source of the reduced superconductivity, akin to the case of magnetic islands. The results pave new paths for the realization of topological‐superconductivity‐based devices with changing order parameter.
Funder
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
European Research Council
Subject
Mechanical Engineering,Mechanics of Materials