Field-free platform for Majorana-like zero mode in superconductors with a topological surface state

Zhang, Songtian S.; Yin, Jia-Xin; Dai, Guangyang; Zhao, Lingxiao; Chang, Tay-Rong; Shumiya, Nana; Jiang, Kun; Zheng, Hao; Bian, Guang; Multer, Daniel; Litskevich, Maksim; Chang, Guoqing; Belopolski, Ilya; Cochran, Tyler A.; Wu, Xianxin; Wu, Desheng; Luo, Jianlin; Chen, Genfu; Lin, Hsin; Chou, Fang-Cheng; Wang, Xiancheng; Jin, Changqing; Sankar, Raman; Wang, Ziqiang; Hasan, M. Zahid

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.101.100507

Title: Field-free platform for Majorana-like zero mode in superconductors with a topological surface state

Journal Article · 31 March 2020 · Physical Review B

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.100507 · OSTI ID:1632136

Zhang, Songtian S. ^[1];

^[1]; Dai, Guangyang ^[2]; Zhao, Lingxiao ^[2]; Chang, Tay-Rong ^[3]; Shumiya, Nana ^[1]; Jiang, Kun ^[4]; Zheng, Hao ^[5]; Bian, Guang ^[6]; Multer, Daniel ^[1]; Litskevich, Maksim ^[1]; Chang, Guoqing ^[1]; Belopolski, Ilya ^[1]; Cochran, Tyler A. ^[1]; Wu, Xianxin ^[2]; Wu, Desheng ^[2]; Luo, Jianlin ^[2]; Chen, Genfu ^[2]; Lin, Hsin ^[7]; Chou, Fang-Cheng ^[8] more »

Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Lab. for Topological Quantum Matter and Advanced Spectroscopy
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Beijing National Lab. for Condensed Matter Physics, Inst. of Physics
National Cheng Kung Univ., Tainan (Taiwan); Center for Quantum Frontiers of Research & Technology (QFort), Tainan (Taiwan); National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Hsinchu (Taiwan)
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
Shanghai Jiaotong Univ., Shanghai (China)
Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)
Academia Sinica, Taipei (Taiwan). Inst. of Physics
National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan). Center for Condensed Matter Science
Academia Sinica, Taipei (Taiwan). Inst. of Physics; National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan). Center for Condensed Matter Science
Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Lab. for Topological Quantum Matter and Advanced Spectroscopy; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Superconducting materials exhibiting topological properties are emerging as an exciting platform to realize fundamentally new excitations from topological quantum states of matter. In this letter, we explore the possibility of a field-free platform for generating Majorana zero energy excitations by depositing magnetic Fe impurities on the surface of candidate topological superconductors, LiFeAs and PbTaSe₂. We use scanning tunneling microscopy to probe localized states induced at the Fe adatoms on the atomic scale and at sub-Kelvin temperatures. We find that each Fe adatom generates a striking zero-energy bound state inside the superconducting gap, which do not split in magnetic fields up to 8 T, underlining a nontrivial topological origin. Finally, our findings point to magnetic Fe adatoms evaporated on bulk superconductors with topological surface states for exploring Majorana zero modes and quantum information science under field-free conditions.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; FG02-05ER46200; FG02-99ER45747

OSTI ID:: 1632136

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1607821

Journal Information:: Physical Review B, Vol. 101, Issue 10; ISSN 2469-9950

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 19 works

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