This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2023
Please use the identifier:
http://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ARXIV.2208.14289 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.34734/FZJ-2023-02544 in citations.
Proximity induced superconductivity in a topological insulator
Proximity induced superconductivity in a topological insulator
Interfacing a topological insulator (TI) with an $s$-wave superconductor (SC) is a promising material platform that offers the possibility to realize a topological superconductor through which Majorana-based topologically protected qubits can be engineered. In our computational study of the prototyp...
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Personal Name(s): | Rüßmann, Philipp (Corresponding author) |
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Blügel, Stefan | |
Contributing Institute: |
Quanten-Theorie der Materialien; PGI-1 Quanten-Theorie der Materialien; IAS-1 |
Imprint: |
arXiv
2022
|
DOI: |
10.48550/ARXIV.2208.14289 |
DOI: |
10.34734/FZJ-2023-02544 |
Document Type: |
Preprint |
Research Program: |
EXC 2004: Matter and Light for Quantum Computing (ML4Q) Topological Matter |
Subject (ZB): | |
Link: |
OpenAccess |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.34734/FZJ-2023-02544 in citations.
Interfacing a topological insulator (TI) with an $s$-wave superconductor (SC) is a promising material platform that offers the possibility to realize a topological superconductor through which Majorana-based topologically protected qubits can be engineered. In our computational study of the prototypical SC/TI interface between Nb and Bi$_2$Te$_3$, we identify the benefits and possible bottlenecks of this potential Majorana material platform. Bringing Nb in contact with the TI film induces charge doping from the SC to the TI, which shifts the Fermi level into the TI conduction band. For thick TI films, this results in band bending leading to the population of trivial TI quantum-well states at the interface. In the superconducting state, we uncover that the topological surface state experiences a sizable superconducting gap-opening at the SC/TI interface, which is furthermore robust against fluctuations of the Fermi energy. We also show that the trivial interface state is only marginally proximitized, potentially obstructing the realization of Majorana-based qubits in this material platform. |