Abstract
Topological superconductivity is an exotic state of matter that supports Majorana zero-modes, which have been predicted to occur in the surface states of three-dimensional systems, in the edge states of two-dimensional systems, and in one-dimensional wires. Localized Majorana zero-modes obey non-Abelian exchange statistics, making them interesting building blocks for topological quantum computing. Here, we report superconductivity induced in the edge modes of semiconducting InAs/GaSb quantum wells, a two-dimensional topological insulator. Using superconducting quantum interference we demonstrate gate-tuning between edge-dominated and bulk-dominated regimes of superconducting transport. The edge-dominated regime arises only under conditions of high-bulk resistivity, which we associate with the two-dimensional topological phase. These experiments establish InAs/GaSb as a promising platform for the confinement of Majoranas into localized states, enabling future investigations of non-Abelian statistics.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 593-597 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Nature Nanotechnology |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 11 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank A. Akhmerov, D. Pikulin, M. Wimmer, T. Hyart, B. Baxevanis, C. Beenakker and A. Geresdi for valuable discussions and comments and K. Zuo for assistance with the dilution refrigerator. This work has been supported by funding from the Netherlands Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and Microsoft Corporation Station Q. V.S.P. acknowledges funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) through a VENI grant. C.C. and W.W. acknowledge funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited.