Efficiency-Tunable Field-Free Josephson Diode Effect in Nb <sub>3</sub> Cl <sub>8</sub> Based van der Waals Junctions

The magnetic field-free Josephson diode effect (JDE) offers a promising route toward nonreciprocal superconducting devices, yet its microscopic origin and effective control remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate a tunable field-free JDE in NbSe<sub>2</sub>/Nb<sub>3</sub>Cl<sub>8</sub>/NbSe<sub>2</sub> van der Waals (vdW) Josephson junctions. By reducing the Nb<sub>3</sub>Cl<sub>8</sub> barrier thickness from four-layer to monolayer, the diode efficiency is significantly enhanced from 1.75% to 20.88%. Moreover, the diode efficiency can be effectively modulated by an out-of-plane electric field, indicating the presence of intrinsic electric polarization in the junction. Both thickness variation and electric field tuning modify the polarization strength, thereby enabling broad control of the diode efficiency. These results uncover the crucial role of intrinsic electric polarization in realizing the field-free JDE and establish this effect as a sensitive probe of spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking in superconducting heterostructures.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nano Letters
Published
2025-12-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c04336
Primary Topic
Iron-based superconductors research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Efficiency-Tunable Field-Free Josephson Diode Effect in Nb 3 Cl 8 Based van der Waals Junctions

Szu‐Yuan Wu, Xiao-Yue Fan, Zhihui Ren, Cai-Zhen Li et al.
Nano Letters
Iron-based superconductors research
article

Efficiency-Tunable Field-Free Josephson Diode Effect in Nb 3 Cl 8 Based van der Waals Junctions

Szu‐Yuan Wu, Xiao-Yue Fan, Zhihui Ren, Cai-Zhen Li, Xianpeng Zhang, Maoyuan Wang, Zhi‐Min Liao, Yugui Yao, Hao-Chen Zhang, Chuan Li, Zhiwei Wang, Xiang Li, Yang Liu, Chong Wang, Gang Wang
article en

Abstract

The magnetic field-free Josephson diode effect (JDE) offers a promising route toward nonreciprocal superconducting devices, yet its microscopic origin and effective control remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate a tunable field-free JDE in NbSe<sub>2</sub>/Nb<sub>3</sub>Cl<sub>8</sub>/NbSe<sub>2</sub> van der Waals (vdW) Josephson junctions. By reducing the Nb<sub>3</sub>Cl<sub>8</sub> barrier thickness from four-layer to monolayer, the diode efficiency is significantly enhanced from 1.75% to 20.88%. Moreover, the diode efficiency can be effectively modulated by an out-of-plane electric field, indicating the presence of intrinsic electric polarization in the junction. Both thickness variation and electric field tuning modify the polarization strength, thereby enabling broad control of the diode efficiency. These results uncover the crucial role of intrinsic electric polarization in realizing the field-free JDE and establish this effect as a sensitive probe of spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking in superconducting heterostructures.

Nano LettersVol. 25(51)
Beijing Institute of Technology (CN), Xiamen University (CN), Peking University (CN), Quantum (Australia) (AU), MSSCORPS (Taiwan) (TW), Institute of Nanotechnology (GB), University of Twente (NL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 70%
Iron-based superconductors research
DOISourceOpenAlex
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