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Experiments on a Cooper Pair Insulator

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Abstract:
At temperatures below 1K, nm thick a-Bi/Sb films, patterned with a nanohoneycomb array of holes, exhibit a novel electronic state consisting of localized Cooper pairs. The Superconductor Insulator Transition (SIT), a phenomenon where the ground state of electrons is tuned from a superconducting to an insulating state, on this patterned homogeneous system shows a clear bosonic nature with activated transport on the insulating side. To date, this homogeneous system is the only one that shows clear evidence for the localization of Cooper pairs. Experiments are described that were performed to further characterize the properties of the localized Cooper pair state and its superconductor to insulator transitions. We show that: (i) The shape of the magnetoresistance (MR) oscillations, which indicate the presence of Cooper pairs in these multiply connected systems, depends on the geometry of the underlying substrates, but not on parameters like the temperature or thickness of the films. The magnetic field tuned SITs of films that are just thick enough to superconduct at zero magnetic field exhibit a common critical sheet resistance separating the superconducting and insulating phases in the range of 3.5 to 5kOhm. We also report a new type of SIT, an incommensurability driven SIT, which occurs due to the interplay of magnetic field and disorder in the arrangement of the honeycomb array of holes. (ii) The Cooper pair insulator state exhibits a giant positive MR, which peaks at a field estimated to be sufficient to break the pairs. The electrical transport on the low field side of the peak is activated. At the highest fields, it resembles G~ log(T), which is consistent with the behavior expected for weakly localized electrons rather than strongly localized Cooper pairs. We discuss this MR peak, compare it to that observed in other amorphous systems and propose a zero temperature phase diagram for these films.
Notes:
Thesis (Ph.D. -- Brown University (2010)

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Citation

Nguyen, Hung Q., "Experiments on a Cooper Pair Insulator" (2010). Physics Theses and Dissertations. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0WM1BNC

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