Quantum Transport in SnTe Nanowire Devices

A variety of quantum transport experiments are reported in SnTe nanowire devices. Research on these particular nanowire devices is relevant because of their topological properties and their potential to distinguish surface states owing to their high surface-to-volume ratio that suppresses the bulk contribution to the conductance. A low-resistance and a high-resistance regime are observed. The highly resistive devices display semiconducting and quantum dot behavior caused by microscopic differences in the fabrication, while devices with low resistance show partial superconductivity when in a hybrid superconductor-nanowire configuration or Fabry-Pérot oscillations. The latter suggests quantum interference in a ballistic transport channel, attributed to the 2D surface states in SnTe. The wide variety of quantum transport phenomena demonstrate SnTe nanowires as a promising platform for diverse follow-up experiments and novel device architectures, including the exploration of topological superconductivity and the development of low-energy spintronic devices.