Topology meets superconductivity through innovative reverse-order sample preparation

A groundbreaking sample preparation technique has enabled researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Tokyo to perform the most controlled and sensitive study to date of a topological insulator (TI) closely coupled to a superconductor (SC). The scientists observed the superconducting proximity effect--induced superconductivity in the TI due to its proximity to the SC--and measured its relationship to temperature and the thickness of the TI.