arXiv subjects

Bum-Kyu Kim

Publications and source records attributed to Bum-Kyu Kim.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Method for rapid estimation of the energy-time covariance matrix of single electrons

The ability to emit and control single electrons in a dynamical manner enables their use in electron quantum optics and sensing. To characterize the electron states emitted with energy far above the Fermi energy, a dynamic barrier has been used. In this work, we extract the energy-time covariance matrix of single electrons by analyzing the energy variance obtained from the transconductance through the dynamic barrier. This method enables efficient and precise characterization of electron states, especially when a sinusoidal waveform is used. An effective phase-space area and the elliptical distribution are constructed from the covariance matrix and qualitatively compared with the distribution reconstructed from a tomographic method. The area constrained by the uncertainty relation serves as a measure of proximity to the quantum limit. Our results demonstrate an efficient method for characterizing electron states, paving the way for their application in quantum technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Genuine Ohmic van der Waals contact between indium and MoS2

The formation of an ideal van der Waals (vdW) contacts at metal/transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) interfaces is a critical step for the development of high-performance and energy-efficient electronic and optoelectronic applications based on the two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors. In overcoming the key chal-lenges of the conventional metal deposition process that leads to an uncontrol-lable Schottky barrier height and high contact resistance, notable advances were recently made by transferring atomically flat metal thin films or thermally evapo-rating indium/gold alloy. However, the realization of an ideal vdW contact be-tween an elemental metal and TMDC through the evaporation process is yet to be demonstrated, and particularly the evidence of an Ohmic contact between three-dimensional metallic electrodes and TMDCs is still unavailable. Herein, we report the fabrication of atomically clean metal/TMDC contacts by evaporating metals at a relatively low thermal energy and subsequently cooling the substrate holder down to 100 K by liquid nitrogen, achieving for the indium (In)/molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) case an accumulation-type Ohmic contact with a metal-induced electron doping density of 10$^{12}$/cm$^2$. We find that the transport at the In/MoS2 contact is dominated by the field-emission mechanism over a wide temperature range from 2.4 to 300 K, and the contact resistance reaches 600 Ohm um and 1,000 Ohm um at cryogenic temperatures for the few-layer and monolayer MoS2 cases, respectively. Based on first-principles calculations, we find that the na-ture of the ideal In/MoS2 vdW contact is characterized by the formation of in-gap states within TMDC together with the abrupt and rigid shift of the TMDC band.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Transport spectroscopy for Paschen-Back splitting of Landau levels in InAs nanowires

The coupling of electron orbital motion and spin leads to nontrivial changes in energy-level structures, leading to various spectroscopies and applications. In atoms, such spin-orbit coupling (SOC) causes anomalous Zeeman splitting, known as the Paschen-Back (PB) effect, in the pres-ence of a strong magnetic field. In solids, SOC generates energy-band inversion or splitting, a prerequisite for topological phases or Majorana fermions, at zero or weak magnetic fields. Here, we present the first observation of PB splitting of Landau levels (LLs) in indium arsenide nan-owires in a strong-field regime. Our energy-resolved transport spectroscopy results indicated the presence of LL-dependent anomalous Zeeman splitting in these nanowires, analogous to the atomic PB effect. This result was found to be in good agreement with a theoretical analysis based on Rashba SOC. Our findings also suggested a way of generating spin-resolved electron transport in nanowires.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling in Superconducting Junctions of β-Ag$_{2}$Se Topological Insulator Nanowire

We report on the fabrication and electrical transport properties of superconducting junctions made of β-Ag$_{2}$Se topological insulator (TI) nanowires in contact with Al superconducting electrodes. The temperature dependence of the critical current indicates that the superconducting junction belongs to a short and diffusive junction regime. As a characteristic feature of the narrow junction, the critical current decreases monotonously with increasing magnetic field. The stochastic distribution of the switching current exhibits the macroscopic quantum tunneling behavior, which is robust up to T = 0.8 K. Our observations indicate that the TI nanowire-based Josephson junctions can be a promising building block for the development of nanohybrid superconducting quantum bits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Fabrication and Characterization of PbIn-Au-PbIn Superconducting Junctions

We report on the fabrication and measurement results of the electrical transport properties of superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) weak links, made of PbIn superconductor and Au metal. The maximum supercurrent reaches up to ~ 6 μA at T = 2.3 K and the supercurrent persists even at higher temperature of T = 4.7 K. Magnetic field dependence of the critical current is consistent with a theoretical fit using the narrow junction model. The superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) was also fabricated using two PbIn-Au-PbIn junctions connected in parallel. Under perpendicular magnetic field, we clearly observed periodic oscillations of dV/dI with a period of magnetic flux quantum threading into the supercurrent loop of the SQUID. Our fabrication methods would provide an easy and simple way to explore the superconducting proximity effects without ultra-low-temperature cryostats.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Very Strong Superconducting Proximity Effects in PbS Semiconductor Nanowires

We report the fabrication of strongly coupled nanohybrid superconducting junctions using PbS semiconductor nanowires and Pb0.5In0.5 superconducting electrodes. The maximum supercurrent in the junction reaches up to ~15 μA at 0.3 K, which is the highest value ever observed in semiconductor-nanowire-based superconducting junctions. The observation of microwave-induced constant voltage steps confirms the existence of genuine Josephson coupling through the nanowire. Monotonic suppression of the critical current under an external magnetic field is also in good agreement with the narrow junction model. The temperature-dependent stochastic distribution of the switching current exhibits a crossover from phase diffusion to a thermal activation process as the temperature decreases. These strongly coupled nanohybrid superconducting junctions would be advantageous to the development of gate-tunable superconducting quantum information devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Switching current distributions in InAs nanowire Josephson junctions

We report on the switching current distributions in nano-hybrid Josephson junctions made of InAs semiconductor nanowires. Temperature dependence of the switching current distribution can be understood by motion of Josephson phase particle escaping from a tilted washboard potential, fitted well to the macroscopic quantum tunneling, thermal activation and phase diffusion models, depending on temperature. Application of gate voltage to tune the Josephson coupling strength enables us to adjust the effective temperature for the escaping process, which would be promising for developing gate-tunable superconducting phase qubits.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Gate-tunable superconducting quantum interference devices of PbS nanowires

We report on the fabrication and electrical transport properties of gate-tunable superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), made of semiconducting PbS nanowire contacted with PbIn superconducting electrodes. Applied with a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the nano-hybrid SQUID, periodic oscillations of the critical current due to the flux quantization in SQUID are observed up to T = 4.0 K. Nonsinusoidal current-phase relationship is obtained as a function of temperature and gate voltage, which is consistent with a short and diffusive junction model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Transport Measurement of Andreev Bound States in a Kondo-Correlated Quantum Dot

We report transport measurements of gate-tunable Andreev bound states in a carbon nanotube quantum dot coupled to two superconducting leads. In particular, we observe clear features of two types of Kondo ridges, which can be understood in terms of the interplay between the Kondo effect and superconductivity. In the first type (type I), the coupling is strong and the Kondo effect is dominant. Levels of the Andreev bound states display anti-crossing in the middle of the ridge. On the other hand, crossing of the two Andreev bound states is shown in the second type (type II) together with the 0-$π$ transition of the Josephson junction. Our scenario is well understood in terms of only a single dimensionless parameter, $k_BT_K^{min}/Δ$, where $T_K^{min}$ and $Δ$ are the minimum Kondo temperature of a ridge and the superconducting order parameter, respectively. Our observation is consistent with measurements of the critical current, and is supported by numerical renormalization group calculations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗