Constructing the Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov State in a CrOCl/NbSe<sub>2</sub> van der Waals Heterostructure
Time reversal symmetry breaking in superconductors, resulting from external magnetic fields or spontaneous magnetization, often leads to unconventional superconducting properties. In this way, an intrinsic phenomenon called the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state may be realized by the Zeeman effect. Here, we construct the FFLO state in an artificial CrOCl/NbSe<sub>2</sub> van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure by utilizing the superconducting proximity effect of NbSe<sub>2</sub> flakes. The proximity-induced superconductivity demonstrates a considerably weak gap of about 0.12 meV, and the in-plane upper critical field reveals the behavior of the FFLO state. First-principles calculations uncover the origin of the proximitized superconductivity, which indicates the importance of Cr vacancies or line defects in CrOCl. Moreover, the FFLO state could be induced by the inherent large spin splitting in CrOCl. Our findings not only provide a practical scheme for constructing the FFLO state but also inspire the discovery of an exotic FFLO state in other two-dimensional vdW heterostructures.
Authors
- Pingfan Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4203-794X)
- Xiang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1973-3736)
- Takashi Taniguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1467-3105)
- Xiaohui Zeng
- Kenji Watanabe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3701-8119)
- Kecheng Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7180-7237)
- Jianpeng Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8564-0415)
- Yueshen Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9462-2289)
- Yiwen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1649-5082)
- Jun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6928-1256)
- Yu-Lin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5977-3890)
- Yu Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6046-063X)
- Shihao Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5787-5022)
- Jinghui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2661-7239)
- Jiadian He
- Jiliang Cai
- Peng Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2880-1339)
- Jun Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3806-7230)
- Yifan Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0224-5058)
- Huakun Zuo
- Pu Yan
Institutions
- Hunan University (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- National Institute for Materials Science (JP)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2024-10-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c03079
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Crystal Structures and Properties
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.24
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
- ShanghaiTech University