LT-STM study of the topological insulator Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ with superconducting and/or magnetic over layers

Superconducting and/or magnetic over layers structures on topological insulator (TI) surfaces were suggested as a potential candidate to create Majorana bound states and 1D Majorana fermions (spin $\raise.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 1$}\kern-.1em/ \kern-.15em\lower.25ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$} $, particle = antiparticle). The latter can serve as a platform for topological quantum computation since two Majorana bound states equal one fermion bound state and two degenerate states (full/empty) forming one qubit. In this work we study the TI Bi$_{2}$se$_{3}$ using a low temperature STM. The data shows the signature energy gap $\Delta \quad \sim $ 0.3 eV, metallic surface states and typical defects. Following the experimental challenges to create and detect Majorana bound or chiral edge states, we present our study of Nb and/or Fe films on the Bi$_{2}$se$_{3}$ surface.