Universität zu Köln

Bai, Mengmeng, Wei, Xian-Kui, Feng, Junya, Luysberg, Martina ORCID: 0000-0002-5613-7570, Bliesener, Andrea, Lippertz, Gertjan ORCID: 0000-0002-4061-7027, Uday, Anjana, Taskin, Alexey A., Mayer, Joachim and Ando, Yoichi ORCID: 0000-0002-3553-3355 (2022). Proximity-induced superconductivity in (Bi1-xSbx)(2)Te-3 topological-insulator nanowires. Commun. Mater., 3 (1). LONDON: SPRINGERNATURE. ISSN 2662-4443

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Abstract

Topological insulator nanowires are interesting because, in the presence of superconductivity, they may host elusive Majorana fermions. Here, superconductivity in (Bi1-xSbx)(2)Te-3 topological-insulator nanowires is realized by using palladium diffusion, providing a tunable platform for Majorana zero modes. When a topological insulator is made into a nanowire, the interplay between topology and size quantization gives rise to peculiar one-dimensional states whose energy dispersion can be manipulated by external fields. In the presence of proximity-induced superconductivity, these 1D states offer a tunable platform for Majorana zero modes. While the existence of such peculiar 1D states has been experimentally confirmed, the realization of robust proximity-induced superconductivity in topological-insulator nanowires remains a challenge. Here, we report the realization of superconducting topological-insulator nanowires based on (Bi1-xSbx)(2)Te-3 (BST) thin films. When two rectangular pads of palladium are deposited on a BST thin film with a separation of 100-200 nm, the BST beneath the pads is converted into a superconductor, leaving a nanowire of BST in-between. We found that the interface is epitaxial and has a high electronic transparency, leading to a robust superconductivity induced in the BST nanowire. Due to its suitable geometry for gate-tuning, this platform is promising for future studies of Majorana zero modes.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Bai, Mengmeng UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Wei, Xian-Kui UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Feng, Junya UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Luysberg, Martina UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-5613-7570 UNSPECIFIED Bliesener, Andrea UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Lippertz, Gertjan UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-4061-7027 UNSPECIFIED Uday, Anjana UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Taskin, Alexey A. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Mayer, Joachim UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Ando, Yoichi UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-3553-3355 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-675267
DOI:	10.1038/s43246-022-00242-6
Journal or Publication Title:	Commun. Mater.
Volume:	3
Number:	1
Date:	2022
Publisher:	SPRINGERNATURE
Place of Publication:	LONDON
ISSN:	2662-4443
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language ENERGY-GAP STRUCTURE; BOUND-STATES Multiple languages Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/67526