In-gap features in superconducting LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$ interfaces observed by tunneling spectroscopy

Abstract

We identified quasiparticle states at well-defined energies inside the superconducting gap of the electron system at the LaAlO$_3$-SrTiO$_3$ interface using tunneling spectroscopy. The states are found only in a number of samples and depend upon the thermal-cycling history of the samples. The states consist of a peak at zero energy and other peaks at finite energies, symmetrically placed around zero energy. These peaks disappear, together with the superconducting gap, with increasing temperature and magnetic field. We discuss the likelihood of various physical mechanisms that are known to cause in-gap states in superconductors and conclude that none of these mechanisms can easily explain the results. The conceivable scenarios are the formation of Majorana bound states, Andreev bound states, or the presence of an odd-frequency spin triplet component in the superconducting order parameter.