January 12, 2005
We study Andreev reflection in a ballistic one-dimensional channel coupled in parallel to a superconductor via a tunnel barrier of finite length $L$. The dependence of the low-energy Andreev reflection probability $R_A$ on $L$ reveals the existence of a characteristic length scale $\xi_N$ beyond which $R_A(L)$ is enhanced up to unity despite the low interfacial transparency. The Andreev reflection enhancement is due to the strong mixing of particle and hole states that builds up in contacts exceeding the coherence length $\xi_N$, leading to a small energy gap (minigap) in the density of states of the normal system. The role of the geometry of such hybrid contacts is discussed in the context of the experimental observation of zero-bias Andreev anomalies in the resistance of extended carbon nanotube/superconductor junctions in field effect transistor setups.
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March 9, 2001
Resonant Andreev reflection through superconductor-carbon-nanotube devices was investigated theoretically with a focus on the superconducting proximity effect. Consistent with a recent experiment, we find that for high transparency devices on-resonance, the Andreev current is characterized by a large value and a resistance dip; low-transparency off-resonance devices give the opposite result. We also give evidence that the observed low-temperature transport anomaly may be a na...
August 1, 2006
We analyze the charge transport between a one-dimensional weakly interacting electron gas and a superconductor within the scaling approach in the basis of scattering states. We derive the renormalization group equations, which fully account for the intrinsic energy dependence due to Andreev reflection. A strong renormalization of the corresponding reflection phase is predicted even for a perfectly transparent metal-superconductor interface. The interaction-induced suppression...
June 21, 1994
Recent experiments on conduction between a semiconductor and a superconductor have revealed a variety of new mesoscopic phenomena. Here is a review of the present status of this rapidly developing field. A scattering theory is described which leads to a conductance formula analogous to Landauer's formula in normal-state conduction. The theory is used to identify features in the conductance which can serve as "signatures" of phase-coherent Andreev reflection, i.e. for which th...
August 22, 2020
In the "ballistic" regime, the transport across a normal metal (N)/superconductor (S) point-contact is dominated by a quantum process called Andreev reflection. Andreev reflection causes an enhancement of the conductance below the superconducting energy gap, and the ratio of the low-bias and the high-bias conductance cannot be greater than 2 when the superconductor is conventional in nature. In this regime, the features associated with Andreev reflection also provide energy a...
May 23, 2008
Semiconductor nanowires provide promising low-dimensional systems for the study of quantum transport phenomena in combination with superconductivity. Here we investigate the competition between the Coulomb blockade effect, Andreev reflection, and quantum interference, in InAs and InP nanowires connected to aluminum-based superconducting electrodes. We compare three limiting cases depending on the tunnel coupling strength and the characteristic Coulomb interaction energy. For ...
November 16, 2004
We study the excess conductance due to the superconducting proximity effect in a ballistic two-dimensional electron system subject to an in-plane magnetic field. We show that under certain conditions the interplay of the Zeeman spin splitting and the effect of a screening supercurrent gives rise to a spin-selective Andreev enhancement of the conductance and anomalies in its voltage, temperature and magnetic field characteristics. The magnetic-field influence on Andreev reflec...
October 30, 2022
We consider a quantum Hall (QH) region in contact with a superconductor (SC), i.e., a QH-SC junction. Due to successive Andreev reflections, the QH-SC interface hosts hybridized electron and hole edge states called chiral Andreev edge states (CAES). We theoretically study the transport properties of these CAES by using a microscopic, tight-binding model. We find that the transport properties strongly depend on the contact geometry and the value of the filling factor. We notic...
December 18, 2008
We show experimentally that in nanometer scaled superconductor/normal metal hybrid devices and in a small window of contact resistances, crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) can dominate the nonlocal transport for all energies below the superconducting gap. Besides CAR, elastic cotunneling (EC) and nonlocal charge imbalance (CI) can be identified as competing subgap transport mechanisms in temperature dependent four-terminal nonlocal measurements. We demonstrate a systematic chan...
January 24, 2005
We investigate transport through hybrid structures consisting of two normal metal leads connected via tunnel barriers to one common superconducting electrode. We find clear evidence for the occurrence of non-local Andreev reflection and elastic cotunneling through superconductor when the separation of the tunnel barrier is comparable to the superconducting coherence length. The probability of the two processes is energy dependent, with elastic cotunneling dominating at low en...
February 4, 2022
Direct detection of superconductivity has long been a key strength of point-contact Andreev reflection. However, its applicability to atomic-scale imaging is limited by the mechanical contact of the Andreev probe. To this end, we present a new method to probe Andreev reflection in a tunnel junction, leveraging tunneling spectroscopy and junction tunability to achieve quantitative detection of Andreev scattering. This method enables unambiguous assignment of superconducting or...