Quantum Andreev effect in two-dimensional HgTe/CdTe quantum well/superconductor systems

Abstract

The Andreev reflection (AR) in 2D HgTe/CdTe quantum well-superconductor hybrid systems is studied. A quantized AR with AR coefficient equal to one is predicted, which is due to the multi-Andreev reflection near the interface of the hybrid system. Importantly, this quantized AR is not only universal, i.e., independent of any system parameters and quality of the coupling of the hybrid system, it is also robust against disorder as well. As a result of this quantum Andreev effect, the conductance exhibits a quantized plateau when the external bias is less the superconductor gap.