Planar tunneling spectroscopy on van der Waals superconductors with AlOx junction grown by atomic layer deposition

Abstract

We demonstrate a method for fabricating a high-quality AlOx-based planar tunnel junction using atomic layer deposition, integrated with the exfoliation and transfer techniques for van der Waals (vdW) materials. The tunneling spectroscopy results on exfoliated Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and 2H-NbSe2 vdW superconductors are highly consistent with that obtained by ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling spectroscopy on atomically clean surfaces. The planar tunneling devices enable high-precision spectroscopy over a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields and reveal novel features and stark contrast between high-TC cuprates and conventional superconductors. This method represents a universally applicable technique for probing the electronic structure of various two-dimensional vdW materials.