Electrically tunable low-density superconductivity in a monolayer topological insulator

Abstract

Turning on superconductivity in a topologically nontrivial insulator may provide a route to search for non-Abelian topological states. However, existing demonstrations of superconductor-insulator switches have involved only topologically trivial systems. Here we report reversible, in situ electrostatic on-off switching of superconductivity in the recently established quantum spin Hall insulator monolayer tungsten ditelluride (WTe₂). Fabricated into a van der Waals field-effect transistor, the monolayer's ground state can be continuously gate-tuned from the topological insulating to the superconducting state, with critical temperatures <i>T</i> _c up to ~1 kelvin. Our results establish monolayer WTe₂ as a material platform for engineering nanodevices that combine superconducting and topological phases of matter.