Affiliation:
1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microelectronics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78758, USA
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that proximity effects are able to substantially modulate the superconducting properties of various quasi-two-dimensional layered materials such as FeSe, FeSeTe, NbSe2, and NbS2. Due to their high surface charge concentration and high dielectric constants, ferroelectric materials provide an interesting avenue for inducing proximity effects in layered superconductors. In this study, we explore the interactions between FeSeTe and the two-dimensional ferroelectrics CuInP2S6 and CuInP2Se6. We found that contrary to the normal behavior of FeSeTe, FeSeTe/CuInP2S6, and FeSeTe/CuInP2Se6 heterostructures display a peculiar two-step superconducting transition. Further testing revealed a hysteresis loop in the IV curves of these samples when measured below the critical temperature indicating the presence of disorder and domains within FeSeTe. We conclude that these domains are responsible for the two-step transition in FeSeTe and hypothesize that they are induced by the domain structure of the aforementioned ferroelectric materials.
Funder
National Science Foundation