Designing Nanomagnet Arrays for Topological Nanowires in Silicon

Maurer, Leon N.; Gamble, John K.; Tracy, Lisa A.; Eley, Serena; Lu, Tzu -Ming

doi:10.1103/PhysRevApplied.10.054071

Designing Nanomagnet Arrays for Topological Nanowires in Silicon

Journal Article · Thu Nov 29 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Physical Review Applied

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.10.054071· OSTI ID:1492365

Maurer, Leon N. ^[1]; Gamble, John K. ^[2]; Tracy, Lisa A. ^[1]; Eley, Serena ^[3]; Lu, Tzu -Ming ^[1]

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA (United States)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Recent interest in topological quantum computing has driven research into topological nanowires, one-dimensional quantum wires that support topological modes, including Majorana fermions. Most topological nanowire designs rely on materials with strong spin-orbit coupling, such as InAs or InSb, used in combination with superconductors. It would be advantageous to fabricate topological nanowires with Si owing to its mature technology. However, the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling in Si is weak. One approach that could circumvent this material deficiency is to rotate the electron spins with nanomagnets. Here we perform detailed simulations of realistic Si/SiGe systems with an artificial spin-orbit gap induced by a nanomagnet array. Most of our results are generalizable to other nanomagnet-based topological nanowire designs. By studying several concrete examples, we gain insight into the effects of nanomagnet arrays, leading to design rules and guidelines. In particular, we develop a recipe for eliminating unwanted gaps that result from realistic nanomagnet designs. Lastly, we present an experimentally realizable design using magnets with a single polarization.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000

OSTI ID:: 1492365

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1524388

Report Number(s):: SAND--2018-13867J; 670714

Journal Information:: Physical Review Applied, Journal Name: Physical Review Applied Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 10; ISSN 2331-7019; ISSN PRAHB2

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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