Tailoring of the interference-induced surface superconductivity by an applied electric field

Abstract

Nucleation of the pair condensate near surfaces above the upper critical magnetic field and the pair-condensate enhancement/suppression induced by changes in the electron-phonon interaction at interfaces are the most known examples of the surface superconductivity. Recently, another example has been reported, when the surface enhancement of the critical superconducting temperature occurs due to quantum interference. In this case the pair states spread over the entire volume of the system while exhibiting the constructive interference near the surface. In the present work we investigate how an applied electric field impacts the interference-induced surface superconductivity. The study is based on a numerical solution of the self-consistent Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for a one-dimensional attractive Hubbard model. Our results demonstrate that the surface superconducting characteristics, especially the surface critical temperature, are sensitive to the applied electric field and can be tailored by changing its magnitude.