Electrically Tunable Superconductivity Through Surface Orbital Polarization

Abstract

We investigate the physical mechanisms for achieving an electrical control of conventional spin-singlet superconductivity in thin films by focusing on the role of surface orbital polarization. Assuming a multi-orbital description of the metallic state, due to screening effects the electric field acts by modifying the strength of the surface potential and, in turn, yields non-trivial orbital-Rashba couplings. The resulting orbital polarization at the surface and in its close proximity is shown to have a dramatic impact on superconductivity. We demonstrate that, by varying the strength of the electric field, the superconducting phase can be either suppressed, i.e. turned into normal metal, or undergo a $0-π$ transition with the $π$ phase being marked by non-trivial sign change of the superconducting order parameter between different bands. These findings unveil a rich scenario to design heterostructures with superconducting orbitronics effects.