Schönle Joachim, Borisov Kiril, Klett Robin, Dyck Denis, Balestro Franck, Reiss Günter, Wernsdorfer Wolfgang
Institut Néel, CNRS and University Grenoble-Alpes, 25 Rue des Martyrs, F-38042, Grenoble, France.
Physikalisches Institut (PHI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Wolfgang-Gaede-Straße 1, D-76131, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 13;9(1):1987. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-38008-1.
The manifestation of spin-orbit interactions, long known to dramatically affect the band structure of heavy-element compounds, governs the physics in the surging class of topological matter. A particular example is found in the new family of topological crystalline insulators. In this systems transport occurs at the surfaces and spin-momentum locking yields crystal-symmetry protected spin-polarized transport. We investigated the current-phase relation of SnTe thin films connected to superconducting electrodes to form SQUID devices. Our results demonstrate that an assisting in-plane magnetic field component can induce 0-π-transitions. We attribute these findings to giant g-factors and large spin-orbit coupling of SnTe topological crystalline insulator, which provides a new platform for investigation of the interplay between spin-orbit physics and topological transport.
自旋轨道相互作用的表现形式，长期以来已知其会显著影响重元素化合物的能带结构，它主导着蓬勃发展的拓扑物质类别的物理学。一个具体例子见于新型拓扑晶体绝缘体家族。在这类体系中，输运发生在表面，且自旋动量锁定产生晶体对称性保护的自旋极化输运。我们研究了连接超导电极形成超导量子干涉器件的碲化锡薄膜的电流 - 相位关系。我们的结果表明，一个辅助的面内磁场分量可以诱导0 - π转变。我们将这些发现归因于碲化锡拓扑晶体绝缘体的巨大g因子和大自旋轨道耦合，这为研究自旋轨道物理与拓扑输运之间的相互作用提供了一个新平台。
