Proximity‐Induced Superconducting Diode Effect in Antiferromagnetic Mott Insulator α‐RuCl<sub>3</sub>
Abstract The superconducting diode effect (SDE), a hallmark of nonreciprocal superconductivity, unveils a rich ore of intriguing physical properties and applications. SDE has been discovered in some unconventional superconductors, but remains underexplored in heterostructures. Here, a van der Waals heterostructure of magnetic Mott insulator α‐RuCl 3 and superconductor NbSe 2 is engineered to induce SDE via proximity‐driven superconducting correlations. Transport measurements reveal an induced superconducting gap (0.2 meV) in α‐RuCl 3 , which is significantly smaller than the intrinsic gap of NbSe 2 (1.2 meV). Upon the application of a weak out‐of‐plane magnetic field below 70 mT, an asymmetry in the critical currents under positive and negative applied currents is observed. In particular, under a positive field of 3 mT, the negative critical current I c − is 774 µA, whereas the positive critical current I c + is 567 µA, resulting in a maximum superconducting diode efficiency Q of ≈15.4%. The field‐direction selectivity implicates Ising‐type spin‐orbit coupling as the symmetry‐breaking mechanism. This work establishes a platform for designing SDE in artificially stacked 2D materials, advancing prospects for superconducting spintronics.
Authors
- Kejing Ran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5585-7613)
- Xiang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1973-3736)
- Takashi Taniguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1467-3105)
- Peng Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2839-2718)
- Yan‐Jiang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6227-6112)
- Kecheng Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7180-7237)
- Yifan Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8567-1100)
- Yueshen Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9462-2289)
- Kenji Watanabe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6249-8666)
- Jinsheng Wen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5864-1466)
- Jun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6928-1256)
- Jian‐Xin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5313-8108)
- Yiwen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1181-6908)
- Jinghui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2661-7239)
- Jiadian He
- Shunli Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4391-7639)
- Yulin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5466-9936)
- Xiaohui Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6686-0589)
Institutions
- Chongqing University (CN)
- National Institute for Materials Science (JP)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN)
- Nanjing University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2025-05-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202504056
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.26
Funders
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- 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