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Title: Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

Journal Article · · Science
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Tokyo (Japan). Inst. for Solid State Physics
  2. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Physics
  3. Nanjing Univ. (China). National Lab. of Solid State Microstructures and Dept. of Physics
  4. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Dept.
  5. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Inst. of Physics. Beijing National Lab. for Condensed Matter Physics (BNLCP-CAS); Univ. of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe1–xSex (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature Tc = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below Tc. Thus, our study shows that the surface states of FeTe0.55Se0.45 are topologically superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; 25220707; 16H02209; 16H06013; 16H00979; 11234014; 11504117; 2016YFA0401000; 2015CB921300; XDPB08-1; XDB07000000
OSTI ID:
1440897
Report Number(s):
BNL-205750-2018-JAAM
Journal Information:
Science, Vol. 360, Issue 6385; ISSN 0036-8075
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 401 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Superconductivity of Topological Surface States and Strong Proximity Effect in Sn 1− x Pb x Te–Pb Heterostructures journal November 2019
Exploring Topological Superconductivity in Topological Materials journal July 2019
Magnetotransport Properties in Epitaxial Fe1.1Te0.7Se0.3 Films journal August 2019
Topological electronic states in HfRuP family superconductors journal December 2019
Zero-energy vortex bound state in the superconducting topological surface state of Fe(Se,Te) journal June 2019
Dirac fermions and flat bands in the ideal kagome metal FeSn journal December 2019
Chiral topological superconductivity arising from the interplay of geometric phase and electron correlation journal May 2019
Evidence of anisotropic Majorana bound states in 2M-WS2 journal July 2019
Half-integer level shift of vortex bound states in an iron-based superconductor journal August 2019
Visualizing electronic structures of quantum materials by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy journal August 2018
2D materials for quantum information science journal August 2019
Catalogue of topological electronic materials journal February 2019
A strongly inhomogeneous superfluid in an iron-based superconductor journal July 2019
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and its application to topological materials journal August 2019
Robust topological nodal lines in halide carbides journal January 2019
Topologically nontrivial phases in superconducting transition metal carbides journal February 2019
Superconducting order parameter of the nodal-line semimetal NaAlSi journal December 2019
Magnetic exchange induced Weyl state in a semimetal EuCd 2 Sb 2 journal January 2020
Studies on the origin of the interfacial superconductivity of Sb 2 Te 3 /Fe 1+y Te heterostructures journal December 2019
Emergence of intrinsic superconductivity below 1.178 K in the topologically non-trivial semimetal state of CaSn 3 journal April 2019
Review of annealing effects and superconductivity in Fe 1+ y Te 1− x Se x superconductors journal August 2019
Effect of electron doping in FeTe 1− y Se y realized by Co and Ni substitution journal August 2019
Electronic and lattice structure of CaFe 1−x Co x AsF probed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy journal November 2019
A general route to form topologically-protected surface and bulk Dirac fermions along high-symmetry lines journal March 2019
Topological quantum states of matter in iron-based superconductors: from concept to material realization journal November 2018
Majorana gets an iron twist journal November 2018
FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 van der Waals tunneling devices journal August 2019
Vortex bound states of charge and magnetic fluctuations induced topological superconductors in heterostructures journal October 2019
Topological states on fractal lattices journal October 2019
Interacting valley Chern insulator and its topological imprint on moiré superconductors journal October 2019
Topological transitions in a model for proximity-induced superconductivity journal December 2019
Flux-induced topological superconductor in planar Josephson junction journal December 2019
Majorana corner flat bands in two-dimensional second-order topological superconductors journal March 2020
Strain-engineered Majorana zero energy modes and φ 0 Josephson state in black phosphorus journal August 2018
Kondo Signatures of a Quantum Magnetic Impurity in Topological Superconductors journal March 2019
Lattice-Symmetry-Assisted Second-Order Topological Superconductors and Majorana Patterns journal October 2019
Exploring High Transition Temperature Superconductivity in a Freestanding or SrTiO 3 -Supported CoSb Monolayer journal January 2020
Superconductivity in Sn 1 x In x Te thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy journal October 2019
Bulk superconductivity in FeTe 1 x Se x via physicochemical pumping of excess iron journal November 2019
Detection of second-order topological superconductors by Josephson junctions journal January 2020
Evidence for Majorana bound states in an iron-based superconductor journal August 2018
Evidence for dispersing 1D Majorana channels in an iron-based superconductor journal January 2020
Nearly quantized conductance plateau of vortex zero mode in an iron-based superconductor journal December 2019
Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Gd-Doped Topological Insulator Bi1.09Gd0.06Sb0.85Te3 journal September 2019
Q Dependence of Magnetic Resonance Mode on FeTe0.5Se0.5 Studied by Inelastic Neutron Scattering journal July 2019
Superconductivity of Topological Surface States and Strong Proximity Effect in Sn 1–x Pb x Te‐Pb Heterostructures journal September 2020
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Figures / Tables (5)


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