Aurélie Féré

The moiré superconductor magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) shows exceptional properties, with an electron (hole) ensemble of only ~1011 carriers per square centimeter, which is five orders of magnitude lower than traditional superconductors (SCs). This results in an ultralow electronic heat capacity and a large kinetic inductance of this truly two-dimensional SC, providing record-breaking parameters for quantum sensing applications, specifically thermal sensing and single-photon detection. To fully exploit these unique superconducting properties for quantum sensing, here, we demonstrate a proof-of-principle experiment to detect single near-infrared photons by voltage biasing an MATBG device near its superconducting phase transition.We observe complete destruction of the SC state upon absorption of a single infrared photon even in a 16–square micrometer device, showcasing exceptional sensitivity. Our work offers insights into the MATBG-photon interaction and demonstrates pathways to use moiré superconductors as an exciting platform for revolutionary quantum devices and sensors.

Copper foil impurities are hampering scalable production of high-quality graphene by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Here, we conduct a thorough study on the origin of these unavoidable contaminations at the surface of copper after the CVD process. We identify two distinct origins for the impurities. The first type is intrinsic impurities, originating from the manufacturing process of the copper foils, already present at the surface before any high-temperature treatment, or buried into the bulk of copper foils. The buried impurities diffuse towards the copper surface during high-temperature treatment and precipitate. The second source is external: silica contamination arising from the quartz tube that also precipitate on copper. The problem of the extrinsic silica contamination is readily solved upon using an adequate confinement the copper foil samples. The intrinsic impurities are much more difficult to remove since they appear spread in the whole foil. Nevertheless, electropolishing proves particularly efficient in drastically reducing the issue.