Superconductivity in CuxBi2Se3 and its Implications for Pairing in the Undoped Topological Insulator

Bi2Se3 is one of a handful of known topological insulators. Here we show that copper intercalation in the van der Waals gaps between the Bi2Se3 layers, yielding an electron concentration of ?2×1020??cm-3, results in superconductivity at 3.8 K in CuxBi2Se3 for 0.12?x?0.15. This demonstrates that Cooper pairing is possible in Bi2Se3 at accessible temperatures, with implications for studying the physics of topological insulators and potential devices.
Kavli Institute of Nanoscience
Applied Sciences