Disorder-Induced Quantum Griffiths Singularity Revealed in an Artificial 2D Superconducting System

Disorder-induced Griffiths singularity of quantum phase transition (QPT) is a crucial issue in 2D superconductors (2DSC). In a superconducting system, the strength of disorder is found to be associated with the vortex pinning energy, which is closely related to the quantum Griffiths singularity; however, a direct study to elucidate the role of vortex pinning energy on the quantum Griffiths singularity in 2DSC remains to be undertaken. Here, an artificial 2DSC system is designed by randomly depositing superconducting nanoislands on 2Delectron gas (2DEG). Quantum Griffiths singularity is present in a graphene/Pb-islands-array hybrid, where the superconducting behavior transits to weakly localized metallic behavior induced by the vertical magnetic field and exhibits critical behavior with a diverging dynamical critical exponent approaching zero temperature. Compared to the study of graphene/Sn-islands-array hybrid where the sharp QPT is observed, the vortex pinning energy acquired from the Arrhenius plot analysis is greater in graphene/Pb-islands-array hybrid, which may contribute to the presence of the quantum Griffiths singularity. This work may provide a comprehensive interpretation of the QPT in 2DSC.