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InAs-Al hybrid devices passing the topological gap protocol

Morteza Aghaee et al. (Microsoft Quantum)
Phys. Rev. B 107, 245423 – Published 21 June 2023

Abstract

We present measurements and simulations of semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure devices that are consistent with the observation of topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes. The devices are fabricated from high-mobility two-dimensional electron gases in which quasi-one-dimensional wires are defined by electrostatic gates. These devices enable measurements of local and nonlocal transport properties and have been optimized via extensive simulations to ensure robustness against nonuniformity and disorder. Our main result is that several devices, fabricated according to the design's engineering specifications, have passed the topological gap protocol defined in Pikulin et al. (arXiv:2103.12217). This protocol is a stringent test composed of a sequence of three-terminal local and nonlocal transport measurements performed while varying the magnetic field, semiconductor electron density, and junction transparencies. Passing the protocol indicates a high probability of detection of a topological phase hosting Majorana zero modes as determined by large-scale disorder simulations. Our experimental results are consistent with a quantum phase transition into a topological superconducting phase that extends over several hundred millitesla in magnetic field and several millivolts in gate voltage, corresponding to approximately one hundred microelectronvolts in Zeeman energy and chemical potential in the semiconducting wire. These regions feature a closing and reopening of the bulk gap, with simultaneous zero-bias conductance peaks at both ends of the devices that withstand changes in the junction transparencies. The extracted maximum topological gaps in our devices are 2060µeV. This demonstration is a prerequisite for experiments involving fusion and braiding of Majorana zero modes.

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  • Received 12 October 2022
  • Revised 9 March 2023
  • Accepted 10 May 2023
  • Corrected 29 March 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsQuantum Information, Science & Technology

Corrections

29 March 2024

Correction: The author name Cameron King has been changed to Evelyn King.

Authors & Affiliations

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See Also

Editorial: Transparency in Physical Review Articles

Randall D. Kamien, Jessica Thomas, Stephen E. Nagler, Anthony M. Begley, and Sarma Kancharla
Phys. Rev. B 107, 210001 (2023)

Editorial: Transparency in Physical Review Articles

Randall D. Kamien, Jessica Thomas, Stephen E. Nagler, Anthony M. Begley, and Sarma Kancharla
Phys. Rev. B 107, 230001 (2023)

Article Text

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References

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 24 — 15 June 2023

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