Spontaneous emergence of Josephson junctions in homogeneous rings of single-crystal Sr2RuO4

Yuuki Yasui, Kaveh Lahabi, Victor Fernández Becerra, Remko Fermin, Muhammad Shahbaz Anwar, Shingo Yonezawa, Takahito Terashima, Milorad V. Milošević, Jan Aarts, Yoshiteru Maeno
2020 npj Quantum Materials  
The chiral p-wave order parameter in Sr 2 RuO 4 would make it a special case amongst the unconventional superconductors. A consequence of this symmetry is the possible existence of superconducting domains of opposite chirality. At the boundary of such domains, the locally suppressed condensate can produce an intrinsic Josephson junction. Here, we provide evidence of such junctions using mesoscopic rings, structured from Sr 2 RuO 4 single crystals. Our order parameter simulations predict such
more » ... gs to host stable domain walls across their arms. This is verified with transport experiments on loops, with a sharp transition at 1.5 K, which show distinct critical current oscillations with periodicity corresponding to the flux quantum. In contrast, loops with broadened transitions at around 3 K are void of such junctions and show standard Little-Parks oscillations. Our analysis demonstrates the junctions are of intrinsic origin and makes a compelling case for the existence of superconducting domains. npj Quantum Materials (2020) 5:21 ; https://doi.
doi:10.1038/s41535-020-0223-7 fatcat:nad3bhjmzbfwdmzhak4ozhsg7q