Quantum oscillations of the critical current and high-field superconducting proximity in ballistic graphene

Josephson junctions based on graphene exhibit tunable proximity effects. The appearance of superconducting states when changing magnetic field and carrier concentration has now been investigated—some proximity effect survives for fields above 1 T. Graphene-based Josephson junctions provide a novel platform for studying the proximity effect 1 , 2 , 3 due to graphene’s unique electronic spectrum and the possibility to tune junction properties by gate voltage 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 . Here we describe graphene junctions with a mean free path of several micrometres, low contact resistance and large supercurrents. Such devices exhibit pronounced Fabry–Pérot oscillations not only in the normal-state resistance but also in the critical current. The proximity effect is mostly suppressed in magnetic fields below 10 mT, showing the conventional Fraunhofer pattern. Unexpectedly, some proximity survives even in fields higher than 1 T. Superconducting states randomly appear and disappear as a function of field and carrier concentration, and each of them exhibits a supercurrent carrying capacity close to the universal quantum limit 17 , 18 . We attribute the high-field Josephson effect to mesoscopic Andreev states that persist near graphene edges. Our work reveals new proximity regimes that can be controlled by quantum confinement and cyclotron motion.