InAs nanowire superconducting tunnel junctions： Quasiparticle spectroscopy, thermometry, and nanorefrigeration

We demonstrate an original method based on controlled oxidation for creating high-quality tunnel junctions between superconducting A1 reservoirs and InAs semiconductor nanowires （NWs）. We show clean tunnel characteristics with a current suppression by 〉4 orders of magnitude for a junction bias well below the A1 gap of △0≈ 200 μeV. The experimental data agree well with the Bardeen- Cooper-Schrieffer theoretical expectations for a superconducting tunnel junction. The studied devices employ small-scale tunnel contacts functioning as thermometers as well as larger electrodes that provide proof-of-principle active cooling of the electron distribution in the NWs. A peak refrigeration of approximately δT = 10 mK is achieved at a bath temperature of Tbath≈ 250-350 mK for our prototype devices. This method introduces important perspectives for the investigation of the thermoelectric effects in semiconductor nanostructures and for nanoscale refrigeration.