Unconventional Josephson effect in hybrid superconductor-topological insulator devices

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Aug 3;109(5):056803. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.056803. Epub 2012 Jul 30.

Abstract

We report on transport properties of Josephson junctions in hybrid superconducting-topological insulator devices, which show two striking departures from the common Josephson junction behavior: a characteristic energy that scales inversely with the width of the junction, and a low characteristic magnetic field for suppressing supercurrent. To explain these effects, we propose a phenomenological model which expands on the existing theory for topological insulator Josephson junctions.