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Register a new userInterfacial superconductivity induced by single-quintuple-layer Bi$_2$Te$_3$ on top of FeTe forming van-der-Waals heterostructure
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We report the first clear observation of interfacial superconductivity on top of FeTe(FT) covered by one quintuple-layer Bi$_2$Te$_3$(BT) forming van-der-Waals heterojunction. Both transport and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements confirm the occurrence of superconductivity at a transition temperature T$_c$ = 13~K, when a single-quintuple-layer BT is deposited on the non-superconducting FT surface. The superconductivity gap decays exponentially with the thickness of BT, suggesting it occurs at the BT-FT interface and the proximity length is above 5-6~nm. We also measure the work functions dependence on the thickness of BT, implying a charge transfer may occur at the BT/FT interface to introduce hole doping into the FT layer, which may serve as a possible candidate for the superconducting mechanism. Our BT/FT heterojunction provides a clean system to study the unconventional interfacial superconductivity.
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