Metallic supercurrent field-effect transistor

G. De Simoni; F. Paolucci; P. Solinas; E. Strambini; F. Giazotto

doi:10.1038/s41565-018-0190-3

paper

Metallic supercurrent field-effect transistor

arXiv:1710.02400 · doi:10.1038/s41565-018-0190-3

Abstract

In their original formulation of superconductivity, the London brothers predicted the exponential suppression of an $e l ec t r os t a t i c$ field inside a superconductor over the so-called London penetration depth, $λ_{L}$ . Despite a few experiments indicating hints of perturbation induced by electrostatic fields, no clue has been provided so far on the possibility to manipulate metallic superconductors via field-effect. Here we report field-effect control of the supercurrent in $a l l$ -metallic transistors made of different Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconducting thin films. At low temperature, our field-effect transistors (FETs) show a monotonic decay of the critical current under increasing electrostatic field up to total quenching for gate voltage values as large as $\pm 40$ V in titanium-based devices. This $bi p o l a r$ field effect persists up to $\sim 85%$ of the critical temperature ( $\sim 0.41$ K), and in the presence of sizable magnetic fields. A similar behavior was observed in aluminum thin film FETs. A phenomenological theory accounts for our observations, and points towards the interpretation in terms of an electric-field-induced perturbation propagating inside the superconducting film. In our understanding, this affects the pairing potential and quenches the supercurrent. These results could represent a groundbreaking asset for the realization of an $a l l$ -metallic superconducting field-effect electronics and leading-edge quantum information architectures.

9 pages, 7 color figures, revised text version

Metallic supercurrent field-effect transistor

Abstract

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