Induced Superconductivity in Graphene Grown on Rhenium

Abstract: We report a new way to strongly couple graphene to a superconductor. The graphene monolayer has been grown directly on top of a superconducting Re(0001) thin film and characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. We observed a moir\'e pattern due to the mismatch between Re and graphene lattice parameters that we have simulated with ab initio calculations. The density of states around the Fermi energy appears to be position dependent on this moir\'e pattern. Tunneling spectroscopy performed at 50 mK shows that the superconducting behavior of graphene on Re is well described by the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory and stands for a very good interface between the graphene and its metallic substrate.