Majorana zero mode in the vortex of an artificial topological superconductor

• Published in: Science China. Physics, mechanics & astronomy Vol. 60; no. 5; pp. 49 - 59
• Main Authors: Sun, Hao-Hua, Jia, Jin-Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Science China Press 01.05.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Astronomy; Atoms & subatomic particles; Bi2Te3; Bismuth tellurides; Classical and Continuum Physics; Crystal structure; Electrons; Elementary excitations; Fermions; Heterostructures; Invited Review; Morphology; Neutrinos; Observations and Techniques; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum computing; Solid state physics; Thin films; Topological insulators; Topological superconductors; Vortices; 人工; 固体物质; 实验进展; 异质结构; 拓扑; 涡流; 超导体; 03.65.Vf; Majorana zero mode; vortex; Majorana fermion; topological superconductor; heterostructure; 74.45.+c; 74.25.Ha; 74.55.+v
• ISSN: 1674-7348; 1869-1927
• DOI: 10.1007/s11433-017-9011-7

Majorana fermion （MF）, an exotic particle that is identical to its own antiparticle, was recently found in solid matter as a quasiparticle excitation, the Majorana zero mode （MZM）, in the vortex of an artificial topological superconductor （TSC）. This artificial TSC, first proposed by Fu and Kane in 2008, is a heterostructure made of a topological insulator BiETe3 and an s-wave superconductor NbSe2. This paper will briefly review the experimental progresses based on the Bi2Te3/NbSe2 heterostructure. All evidences are self-consistent and reveal that the MZM exists in the center of vortex. Those experimental results are also supported by theory. This finding is a milestone in the research ofMajorana fermions in solid state physics and a starting point of MZM＇s application in topological quantum computation.