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Transistors driven by superconductors

A hybrid transistor device has been made in which a superconductor forms a seamless interface with a semiconductor. The study of such interfaces could open the way to innovative applications in electronics.
  1. Yoshiharu Krockenberger

    1. Yoshiharu Krockenberger is in the Materials Science Laboratory, NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.

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  2. Yoshitaka Taniyasu

    1. Yoshitaka Taniyasu is in the Materials Science Laboratory, NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.

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Integrating superconductors with semiconductors has long been thought to be essential to overcome the current limitations of electronic devices, but has been challenging to achieve. In a paper in Nature, Yan et al.1 report their use of a technique known as molecular beam epitaxy to grow layers of semiconductors on top of a superconductor. The resulting device has potentially useful electronic properties that hint at future applications for semiconductor–superconductor interfaces.

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Nature 555, 172-173 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-02717-4

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