Gold Atoms Promote Macroscopic Superconductivity in an Atomic Monolayer of Pb on Si(111)
Résumé
Atomically thin superconductivity in Pb-monolayers grown on Si(111) is affected by adding a tiny amount of Au-atoms. In-situ macroscopic electron transport measurements reveal that superconductivity develops at higher temperatures and manifests a sharper superconducting transition to zero-resistance as compared to pristine Pb/Si(111). Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy show that Au atoms decorate atomic step 1 edges of Pb/Si(111) and link the electronic reservoirs of neighbouring atomic terraces. The propagation of superconducting correlations across the edges is enhanced facilitating the coherence between terraces and promoting macroscopic superconductivity at higher temperature. This finding opens new ways to design and control Josephson junctions at the atomic scale.
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