Parity of specular Andreev reflection under a mirror operation in a zigzag graphene ribbon

Yanxia Xing*, Jian Wang, Qing Feng Sun

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It is known that the parity of a reflection amplitude can either be even or odd under a mirror operation. Up to now to our knowledge, all the parities of a reflection amplitude in the one-mode energy region have been even under a mirror operation. In this paper, we give an example of odd parity for Andreev reflection (AR) in a three-terminal graphene-supercondutor hybrid system. We found that the parity is even for the Andreev retroreflection and odd for specular Andreev reflection (SAR). We attribute this remarkable phenomenon to the distinct topology of the band structure of graphene and the specular Andreev reflection involving two energy bands with different parity symmetry. As a result of the odd parity of SAR, the SAR probability of a four-terminal system with two superconducting leads (two reflection interfaces) can be 0 even when the system is asymmetric due to the quantum interference of two ARs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number205418
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume83
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 May 2011

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