arXiv subjects

Connor P. Dempsey

Publications and source records attributed to Connor P. Dempsey.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tunable anharmonicity in Sn-InAs nanowire transmons beyond the short junction limit

The anharmonicity of a transmon qubit, defined as the difference in energy level spacing, is a key design parameter. In transmons built from hybrid superconductor-semiconductor Josephson elements, the anharmonicity is tunable with gate voltages that control both the Josephson energy and the weak link transparency. In Sn-InAs nanowire transmons, we use two-tone microwave spectroscopy to extract anharmonicity ranging in absolute value from the transmon charging energy $E_c$ to values smaller than $E_c/10$. This behavior contrasts with the predictions of the multi-channel short-junction model, which sets a lower limit on anharmonicity at $E_c/4$. Coherent operation of the qubit is still possible at the point of the lowest anharmonicity. These findings demonstrate the potential of quantum circuits that benefit from widely electrically tunable anharmonicity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Transmon qubit using Sn as a junction superconductor

Superconductor qubits typically use aluminum-aluminum oxide tunnel junctions to provide the non-linear inductance. Junctions with semiconductor barriers make it possible to vary the superconductor material and explore beyond aluminum. We use InAs semiconductor nanowires coated with thin superconducting shells of beta-Sn to realize transmon qubits. By tuning the Josephson energy with a gate voltage, we adjust the qubit frequency over a range of 3 GHz. The longest energy relaxation time, T1 = 27 microseconds, is obtained at the lowest qubit frequencies, while the longest echo dephasing time, T2 = 1.8 microseconds, is achieved at higher frequencies. We assess the possible factors limiting coherence times in these devices and discuss steps to enhance performance through improvements in materials fabrication and circuit design.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Spin-orbit coupling in digital alloyed InGaAs quantum wells

Increasing the spin-orbit coupling in InGaAs quantum wells is desirable for applications involving spintronics and topological quantum computing. Digital alloying is an approach towards growing ternary quantum wells that enables asymmetric interfaces and compositional grading in the quantum well, which can potentially modify the spin-orbit coupling in the quantum well. The spin-orbit coupling of the quantum wells is extracted from beating patterns in the low magnetic field magnetoresistance. Digital alloying is found to modify the spin-orbit coupling by up to 138 meV\textnormal{\AA}. The changes induced in the spin-orbit coupling can be qualitatively understood as being due to modifications in the interfacial Rashba spin-orbit coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Sn-InAs nanowire shadow-defined Josephson junctions

Interest in hybrid electronic devices for quantum science is driving the research into superconductor-semiconductor materials combinations. Here we study InAs nanowires coated with shells of $\beta$-Sn. The wires grow via the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism out from (001) InAs substrates along two orientations, forming a criss-crossing landscape. This allows us to define nanowire-shadow junctions during the low temperature Sn shell deposition by carefully choosing the deposition angle. We find that the Sn shells are uniform in thickness and the grains have a preferential in-plane epitaxial relationship with InAs. The interface between Sn and InAs is abrupt and we do not observe interdiffusion. In our nanowire devices, Sn induces a superconducting gap of order 600 $\mu$eV, switching currents reaching values up to 500 nA, and critical magnetic fields along the nanowire of up to 1.3 T. These characteristics can be leveraged in the design of superconducting transmon qubits, parametric microwave amplifiers as well as for the investigation of triplet and topological superconductivity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Near-half-metallic state in the half Heusler PtMnSb film on a III-V substrate

The interplay between half-metallic ferromagnetism and spin-orbit coupling within the inversion symmetry-broken structure of half Heuslers provides an ideal platform for various spintronics functionalities. Taking advantage of good lattice matching, it is highly desired to epitaxially integrate promising Heuslers into III-V semiconductor-based devices. PtMnSb is one of the first half Heuslers predicted to be an above-room-temperature half-metal with large spin orbit coupling, however, its half-metallicity and potential as a spintronics material has remained elusive due to lack of high quality samples. Here we demonstrate epitaxial growth of single crystal PtMnSb(001) film on GaSb(001) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. Direct observation of the band structure via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and many-body perturbation theory within the quasiparticle self-consistent GW approximation (QPGW) reveal that PtMnSb hosts rather a near-halfmetallic state with both spin bands crossing the Fermi level and with high spin polarization over 90%. Temperature dependence of magnetization also shows an anomalous enhancement below 60 K, which can be associated with the development of such a near-half-metallic state at low temperatures. Epitaxial growth of high crystalline PtMnSb on a III-V paves the way for systematic clarification of its spin transport properties with fine-tuning of strain in heterostructure devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Enhanced mobility of ternary InGaAs quantum wells through digital alloying

High In content InGaAs quantum wells (In $\geq$ 75%) are potentially useful for topological quantum computing and spintronics applications. In high mobility InGaAs quantum wells, alloy disorder scattering is a limiting factor. In this report, we demonstrate that by growing the InGaAs quantum wells as a digital alloy, or a short period superlattice, we can reduce the alloy disorder scattering within the quantum well and increase the peak 2 K electron mobility to 545,000 cm^2/V s, which is the highest reported mobility for high In content InGaAs quantum wells to the best of the authors' knowledge. Our results demonstrate that the digital alloy approach can be used to increase the mobility of quantum wells in random alloy ternary materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Determining the bulk and surface electronic structure of $α$-Sn/InSb(001) with spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The surface and bulk states in topological materials have shown promise in many applications. Grey or $α$-Sn, the inversion symmetric analogue to HgTe, can exhibit a variety of these phases. However there is disagreement in both calculation and experiment over the exact shape of the bulk bands and the number and origin of the surface states. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission we investigate the bulk and surface electronic structure of $α$-Sn thin films on InSb(001) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We find that there is no significant warping in the shapes of the bulk bands. We also observe the presence of only two surface states near the valence band maximum in both thin (13 bilayer) and thick (400 bilayer) films. In 50 bilayer films, these two surface states coexist with quantum well states. Surprisingly, both of these surface states are spin-polarized with orthogonal spin-momentum locking and opposite helicities. One of these states is the spin-polarized topological surface state and the other a spin resonance. Finally, the presence of another orthogonal spin-momentum locked topological surface state from a secondary band inversion is verified. Our work clarifies the electronic structure of $α$-Sn(001) such that better control of the electronic properties can be achieved. In addition, the presence of two spin-polarized surface states near the valence band maximum has important ramifications for the use of $α$-Sn in spintronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Strain Solitons in an Epitaxially Strained van der Waals-like Material

Strain solitons are quasi-dislocations that form in van der Waals materials to relieve the energy associated with lattice or rotational mismatch in the crystal. Novel and unusual electronic properties of strain solitons have been both predicted and observed. To date, strain solitons have only been observed in exfoliated crystals or mechanically strained bulk crystals. The lack of a scalable approach towards the generation of strain solitons poses a significant challenge in the study of and use of the properties of strain solitons. Here we report the formation of strain solitons with epitaxial growth of bismuth on an InSb (111)B substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. The morphology of the strain solitons for films of varying thickness is characterized with scanning tunneling microscopy and the local strain state is determined from the analysis of atomic resolution images. Bending in the solitons is attributed due to interactions with the interface, and large angle bending is associated with edge dislocations. Our results enable the scalable generation of strain solitons.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Growth and characterization of $α$-Sn thin films on In- and Sb-rich reconstructions of InSb(001)

$α$-Sn thin films can exhibit a variety of topologically non-trivial phases. Both studying the transitions between these phases and making use of these phases in eventual applications requires good control over the electronic and structural quality of $α$-Sn thin films. $α$-Sn growth on InSb often results in out-diffusion of indium, a p-type dopant. By growing $α$-Sn via molecular beam epitaxy on the Sb-rich c(4$\times$4) surface reconstruction of InSb(001) rather than the In-rich c(8$\times$2), we demonstrate a route to substantially decrease and minimize this indium incorporation. The reduction in indium concentration allows for the study of the surface and bulk Dirac nodes in $α$-Sn via angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy without the common approaches of bulk doping or surface dosing, simplifying topological phase identification. The lack of indium incorporation is verified in angle-resolved and -integrated ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy as well as in clear changes in the Hall response.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Gate-tunable Superconducting Diode Effect in a Three-terminal Josephson Device

The phenomenon of non-reciprocal critical current in a Josephson device, termed the Josephson diode effect, has garnered much recent interest. Realization of the diode effect requires inversion symmetry breaking, typically obtained by spin-orbit interactions. Here we report observation of the Josephson diode effect in a three-terminal Josephson device based upon an InAs quantum well two-dimensional electron gas proximitized by an epitaxial aluminum superconducting layer. We demonstrate that the diode efficiency in our devices can be tuned by a small out-of-plane magnetic field or by electrostatic gating. We show that the Josephson diode effect in these devices is a consequence of the artificial realization of a current-phase relation that contains higher harmonics. We also show nonlinear DC intermodulation and simultaneous two-signal rectification, enabled by the multi-terminal nature of the devices. Furthermore, we show that the diode effect is an inherent property of multi-terminal Josephson devices, establishing an immediately scalable approach by which potential applications of the Josephson diode effect can be realized, agnostic to the underlying material platform. These Josephson devices may also serve as gate-tunable building blocks in designing topologically protected qubits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Competing Uniaxial Anisotropies in Epitaxial Fe Thin Films Grown on InAs(001)

We report on the interplay of two uniaxial magnetic anisotropies in epitaxial Fe thin films of varying thickness grown on InAs(001) as observed in ferromagnetic resonance experiments. One anisotropy originates from the Fe/InAs interface while the other originates from in-plane shear strain resulting from the anisotropic relaxation of the Fe film. X-ray diffraction was used to measure the in-plane lattice constants of the Fe films, confirming the correlation between the onset of film relaxation and the corresponding shear strain inferred from ferromagnetic resonance data. These results are relevant for ongoing efforts to develop spintronic and quantum devices utilizing large spin-orbit coupling in III-V semiconductors.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Tuning the Band Topology of GdSb by Epitaxial Strain

Rare-earth monopnictide (RE-V) semimetal crystals subjected to hydrostatic pressure have shown interesting trends in magnetoresistance, magnetic ordering, and superconductivity, with theory predicting pressure-induced band inversion. Yet, thus far, there have been no direct experimental reports of interchanged band order in RE-Vs due to strain. This work studies the evolution of band topology in biaxially strained GdSb (001) epitaxial films using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory (DFT). We find that biaxial strain continuously tunes the electronic structure from topologically trivial to nontrivial, reducing the gap between the hole and the electron bands dispersing along the [001] direction. The conduction and valence band shifts seen in DFT and ARPES measurements are explained by a tight-binding model that accounts for the orbital symmetry of each band. Finally, we discuss the effect of biaxial strain on carrier compensation and magnetic ordering temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Electronic structure of InSb (001), (110), and (111)B surfaces

The electronic structure of various (001), (110), and (111)B surfaces of n-type InSb were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The InSb(111)B (3x1) surface reconstruction is determined to be a disordered (111)B (3x3) surface reconstruction. The surface Fermi-level of the In rich and the equal In:Sb (001), (110), and (111)B surface reconstructions was observed to be pinned near the valence band edge. This observed pinning is consistent with a charge neutrality level lying near the valence band maximum. Sb termination was observed to shift the surface Fermi-level position by up to $254 \pm 35$ meV towards the conduction band on the InSb (001) surface and $60 \pm 35$ meV towards the conduction band on the InSb(111)B surface. The surface Sb on the (001) can shift the surface from electron depletion to electron accumulation. We propose the shift in the Fermi-level pinning is due to charge transfer from Sb clusters on the Sb terminated surfaces. Additionally, many sub-gap states were observed for the (111)B (3x1) surface, which are attributed to the disordered nature of this surface. This work demonstrates the tuning of the Fermi-level pinning position of InSb surfaces with Sb termination.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Inversion Symmetry Breaking in Epitaxial Ultrathin Bi (111) Films

Bismuth (Bi) films hold potential for spintronic devices and topological one-dimensional edge transport. Large-area high-quality (111) Bi ultrathin films are grown on InSb (111)B substrates. Strong film-substrate interactions epitaxially stabilize the (111) orientation and lead to inversion symmetry breaking. We resolve the longstanding controversy over the Z_2 topological assignment of bismuth and show that the surface states are topologically trivial. Our results demonstrate that interfacial bonds prevent the semimetal-to-semiconductor transition predicted for freestanding bismuth layers, highlighting the importance of controlled functionalization and surface passivation in two-dimensional materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Selective Control of Conductance Modes in Multi-terminal Josephson Junctions

The Andreev bound state spectra of multi-terminal Josephson junctions form an artificial band structure, which is predicted to host tunable topological phases under certain conditions. However, the number of conductance modes between the terminals of multi-terminal Josephson junction must be few in order for this spectrum to be experimentally accessible. In this work we employ a quantum point contact geometry in three-terminal Josephson devices. We demonstrate independent control of conductance modes between each pair of terminals and access to the single-mode regime coexistent with the presence of superconducting coupling. These results establish a full platform on which to realize tunable Andreev bound state spectra in multi-terminal Josephson junctions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Supercurrent parity-meter in a nanowire Cooper-pair transistor

We study a Cooper-pair transistor realized by two Josephson weak links that enclose a superconducting island in an InSb-Al hybrid nanowire. When the nanowire is subject to a magnetic field, isolated subgap levels arise in the superconducting island and, due to the Coulomb blockade,mediate a supercurrent by coherent co-tunneling of Cooper pairs. We show that the supercurrent resulting from such co-tunneling events exhibits, for low to moderate magnetic fields, a phase offset that discriminates even and odd charge ground states on the superconducting island. Notably,this phase offset persists when a subgap state approaches zero energy and, based on theoretical considerations, permits parity measurements of subgap states by supercurrent interferometry. Such supercurrent parity measurements could, in a new series of experiments, provide an alternative approach for manipulating and protecting quantum information stored in the isolated subgap levels of superconducting islands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗