Specific Heat of Superconducting Zn Nanowires

Abstract

We present heat capacity measurements on crystalline Zn nanowires with diameters of 230 and 23 nm, bracketing the superconducting coherence length of 155 nm. Transport measurements on superconducting nanowires have found a crossover from three-dimensional to one-dimensional behavior as the wire diameter was reduced below the coherence length. In contrast, the normalized heat capacity peak of the 23 nm Zn nanowires is found to be nearly identical to that of 230 nm wires and bulk Zn, indicating their thermodynamic properties remain three dimensional.