Tunneling conductance in normal-insulator-superconductor junctions of silicene.

Abstract We theoretically investigate the transport properties of a normal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) junction of silicene in the thin barrier limit. Similar to graphene the tunneling conductance in such NIS structure exhibits an oscillatory behavior as a function of the strength of the barrier in the insulating region. However, unlike in graphene, the tunneling conductance in silicene can be controlled by an external electric field owing to its buckled structure. We also demonstrate the change in behavior of the tunneling conductance across the NIS junction as we change the chemical potential in the normal silicene region. In addition, at high doping levels in the normal region, the period of oscillation of the tunneling conductance as a function of the barrier strength changes from π / 2 to π with the variation of doping in the superconducting region of silicene. Highlights • Tunneling conductance (TC) exhibits contrasting behavior in various doping regimes. • Unlike in graphene, TC in silicene shows strong dependence on electric field. • Electric field acts as a switch to tune the conductance from on to off condition. • Unusual doping dependence of period of oscillation of TC vs the barrier strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]