arXiv subjects

Shengbiao Sun

Publications and source records attributed to Shengbiao Sun.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Symmetry Origins of the Field-Free Superconducting Diode Effect in the Kagome Superconductor CsV$_3$Sb$_5$

Field-free superconducting diode effects require both inversion-symmetry breaking and an internal time-reversal-symmetry (TRS) breaking field, making them sensitive probes of hidden order in superconductors. In centrosymmetric kagome AV$_3$Sb$_5$, the inversion symmetry generally should generally preclude the observation of the superconducting diode effect. Furthermore, though TRS breaking has been reported in the superconducting regime of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, whether it is generated by superconductivity or inherited from charge-density-wave (CDW) order remains unresolved. Here we show that pristine CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ devices exhibit no intrinsic field-free superconducting diode effect, whereas surface oxidation or asymmetric etching activates a large nonreciprocal supercurrent. Moreover, the response is stochastic, with sweep-dependent polarity and magnitude, indicating metastable TRS-breaking domain configurations. Small out-of-plane magnetic fields stabilize the superconducting diode response, consistent with field selection of such domains. Finally, when long-range CDW order is suppressed by Ti doping, the SDE disappears. Our results establish the symmetry requirements for the field-free SDE in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, reveal its stochastic domain-controlled character, and link superconducting-state TRS breaking to CDW-related order.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

Large Field-Free Superconducting Diode Effect with Nonmonotonic Polarity Reversals in NbSe$_2$/CrBr$_3$ Heterostructures

The superconducting diode effect (SDE), characterized by nonreciprocal dissipationless supercurrent, offers a promising route toward ultralow-power superconducting electronics. Yet most realizations require an external magnetic field, and achieving a large, controllable SDE at zero field remains challenging. Here we report a field-free SDE with an efficiency reaching 35.7% in a van der Waals NbSe$_2$/CrBr$_3$ heterostructure, whose polarity is programmable by magnetic-field history. Unlike conventional mechanisms based on finite-momentum pairing, the SDE originates from the leading symmetry-allowed cubic term odd in Cooper-pair momentum, which yields unequal critical currents while leaving the equilibrium condensate at zero momentum. Remarkably, upon sweeping a perpendicular magnetic field, the diode polarity undergoes nonmonotonic and hysteretic reversals that cannot be explained by Meissner screening or conventional ferromagnetic proximity. Combining transport measurements, micromagnetic simulations, and a generalized Ginzbur-Landau theory, we attribute these unconventional behaviors to layered ferrimagnetism in CrBr$_3$, where coexisting ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interlayer couplings produce a history-dependent interfacial exchange field acting on NbSe$_2$. Our results reveal a distinct mechanism for nonreciprocal superconductivity and establish layered van der Waals magnetism as a versatile platform for high-efficiency, programmable, field-free superconducting diodes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Signatures of spin-polarized p-wave superconductivity in the kagome material RbV$_3$Sb$_5$

The study of kagome materials has attracted much attention in the past few years due to the presence of many electron-electron interaction-driven phases in a single material. These include charge density waves, nematic phases, superconducting phases, and pair density waves. In this work, we report the discovery of intrinsic spin-polarized p-wave superconductivity in the thin-flake kagome material RbV$_3$Sb$_5$. Firstly, when an in-plane magnetic field is swept in opposite directions, we observe a unique form of hysteresis in magnetoresistance which is different from the hysteresis induced by extrinsic mechanisms such as flux-trapping or superheating and supercooling effects. The unconventional hysteresis indicates the emergence of an intrinsic time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconducting phase. Strikingly, at a fixed magnetic field, the finite-resistance state can be transitioned into the superconducting state by applying and subsequently removing a large current. Secondly, at temperatures around 400 mK, the re-entrance of superconductivity occurs during an in-plane field-sweeping process. This kind of re-entrance is asymmetric about the zero field axis and observed in all field directions for a fixed current direction, which is different from the re-entrance observed in conventional superconductors. These findings put very strong constraints on the possible superconducting pairing symmetry of RbV$_3$Sb$_5$. We point out that the pairing symmetry, which is consistent with the crystal symmetry and all the observed novel properties, is possibly a time-reversal symmetry-breaking, p-wave pairing with net spin polarization. Importantly, this p-wave pairing gives rise to a nodal topological superconducting state with Majorana flat bands on the sample edges.

cond-mat.str-el↗