Demonstration of Majorana Fermion Pairs in Superconducting gold Surface States

ORAL

Abstract

We present strong evidence for the emergence of Majorana bound states (MBS) in gold nanowires with proximitized superconductivity, as theoretically predicted.1 The interplay between superconductivity, spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and Zeeman field laid the foundation to realize MBS. We have experimentally achieved novel heterostructures, achieving these three interactions, and developed a unique method to fabricate such heterostructures into scalable nanowires. Using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under in-plane magnetic field, we show that MBS appears in pairs at the opposite edges of a magnetic nanostructure on Au nanowire at 350 mK. Such spatially resolved pair of bound states, confirmed by further theoretical modeling, provides strong support for the observation of MBS in Au nanowire systems. It opens up the possibility for realizing MBS manipulations in stable and scalable metallic thin-film nanostructures, where strong SOC ensures much more robust MBS compared to other analogous semiconductor-based schemes.

1. A. C. Potter & P. A. Lee PRL 105, 227003 (2010); PRB 85, 094516 (2012)

*Supported by John Templeton Foundation Grant No. 39944, ONR Grant N00014-16-1-2657 and NSF (DMR 1700137)

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Presenters

  • Sujit Manna

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Sujit Manna

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Peng Wei

    • University of California, Riverside
    • Phyiscs and Astronomy, UCR
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
    • Physics and Astronomy, UC riverside

  • Yingming Xie

    • Physics, HKUST
    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Kam Tuen Law

    • Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    • Department of Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    • Physics, HKUST
    • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    • The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Patrick Lee

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Jagadeesh Moodera

    • Dept. Of Physics, Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Francis Bitter Magnet Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • MIT
    • Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Department of Physics, Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and Francis Bitter Magnet Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, MIT
    • Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, and Department of Physics, MIT
    • Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory and Plasma Science and Fusion Center, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
    • Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Physics, Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Department of Physics, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139