Josephson radiation and shot noise of a semiconductor nanowire junction

We measured the Josephson radiation emitted by an InSb semiconductor nanowire junction utilizing photon-assisted quasiparticle tunneling in an ac-coupled superconducting tunnel junction. We quantify the action of the local microwave environment by evaluating the frequency dependence of the inelastic Cooper-pair tunneling of the nanowire junction and find the zero-frequency impedance Z(0)=492Ω with a cutoff frequency of f0=33.1GHz. We extract a circuit coupling efficiency of η≈0.1 and a detector quantum efficiency approaching unity in the high-frequency limit. In addition to the Josephson radiation, we identify a shot noise contribution with a Fano factor F≈1, consistently with the presence of single electron states in the nanowire channel.QRD/Kouwenhoven LabQN/Quantum TransportQN/Bakkers LabQRD/Geresdi La

Experimental phase diagram of zero-bias conductance peaks in superconductor/semiconductor nanowire devices

Topological superconductivity is an exotic state of matter characterized by spinless p-wave Cooper pairing of electrons and by Majorana zero modes at the edges. The first signature of topological superconductivity is a robust zero-bias peak in tunneling conductance. We perform tunneling experiments on semiconductor nanowires (InSb) coupled to superconductors (NbTiN) and establish the zero-bias peak phase in the space of gate voltage and external magnetic field. Our findings are consistent with calculations for a finite-length topological nanowire and provide means for Majorana manipulation as required for braiding and topological quantum bits.QN/Bakkers LabQuTec

Crossed Andreev reflection in InSb flake Josephson junctions

We study superconducting quantum interference in InSb flake Josephson junctions. An even-odd effect in the amplitude and periodicity of the superconducting quantum interference pattern is found. Interestingly, the occurrence of this pattern coincides with enhanced conduction at both edges of the flake, as is deduced from measuring a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) pattern at reduced gate voltages. We identify the specific crystal facet of the edge with enhanced conduction, and confirm this by measuring multiple devices. Furthermore, we argue the even-odd effect is due to crossed Andreev reflection, a process where a Cooper pair splits up over the two edges and recombines at the opposite contact. An entirely h/e periodic SQUID pattern, as well as the observation of both even-odd and odd-even effects, corroborates this conclusion. Crossed Andreev reflection could be harnessed for creating a topological state of matter or performing experiments on the nonlocal spin entanglement of spatially separated Cooper pairs.QRD/Goswami LabQRD/Kouwenhoven LabQN/Kouwenhoven La

Electric field tunable superconductor-semiconductor coupling in Majorana nanowires

We study the effect of external electric fields on superconductor-semiconductor coupling by measuring the electron transport in InSb semiconductor nanowires coupled to an epitaxially grown Al superconductor. We find that the gate voltage induced electric fields can greatly modify the coupling strength, which has consequences for the proximity induced superconducting gap, effective g-factor, and spin-orbit coupling, which all play a key role in understanding Majorana physics. We further show that level repulsion due to spin-orbit coupling in a finite size system can lead to seemingly stable zero bias conductance peaks, which mimic the behavior of Majorana zero modes. Our results improve the understanding of realistic Majorana nanowire systems.QRD/Kouwenhoven LabQuTechApplied SciencesQN/Bakkers La

Magnetic-Field-Resilient Superconducting Coplanar-Waveguide Resonators for Hybrid Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics Experiments

Superconducting coplanar-waveguide resonators that can operate in strong magnetic fields are important tools for a variety of high-frequency superconducting devices. Magnetic fields degrade resonator performance by creating Abrikosov vortices that cause resistive losses and frequency fluctuations or suppress the superconductivity entirely. To mitigate these effects, we investigate lithographically defined artificial defects in resonators fabricated from Nb-Ti-N superconducting films. We show that by controlling the vortex dynamics, the quality factor of resonators in perpendicular magnetic fields can be greatly enhanced. Coupled with the restriction of the device geometry to enhance the superconductors critical field, we demonstrate stable resonances that retain quality factors ≃105 at the single-photon power level in perpendicular magnetic fields up to B⊥ ≃20mT and parallel magnetic fields up to B⥠≃6T. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique for hybrid systems by integrating an In-Sb nanowire into a field-resilient superconducting resonator and use it to perform fast charge readout of a gate-defined double quantum dot at B=1T.QRD/Kouwenhoven LabQuTechApplied SciencesBUS/GeneralQCD/DiCarlo LabQN/Kouwenhoven La

Quantized Majorana conductance

Majorana zero-modes - a type of localized quasiparticle - hold great promise for topological quantum computing. Tunnelling spectroscopy in electrical transport is the primary tool for identifying the presence of Majorana zero-modes, for instance as a zero-bias peak in differential conductance. The height of the Majorana zero-bias peak is predicted to be quantized at the universal conductance value of 2e 2 /h at zero temperature (where e is the charge of an electron and h is the Planck constant), as a direct consequence of the famous Majorana symmetry in which a particle is its own antiparticle. The Majorana symmetry protects the quantization against disorder, interactions and variations in the tunnel coupling. Previous experiments, however, have mostly shown zero-bias peaks much smaller than 2e 2 /h, with a recent observation of a peak height close to 2e 2 /h. Here we report a quantized conductance plateau at 2e 2 /h in the zero-bias conductance measured in indium antimonide semiconductor nanowires covered with an aluminium superconducting shell. The height of our zero-bias peak remains constant despite changing parameters such as the magnetic field and tunnel coupling, indicating that it is a quantized conductance plateau. We distinguish this quantized Majorana peak from possible non-Majorana origins by investigating its robustness to electric and magnetic fields as well as its temperature dependence. The observation of a quantized conductance plateau strongly supports the existence of Majorana zero-modes in the system, consequently paving the way for future braiding experiments that could lead to topological quantum computing.Accepted Author Manuscript This title has a addendum: editorial expression of concern, see Relations belowQRD/Kouwenhoven LabApplied SciencesIntegral Design and ManagementQN/Bakkers La

Multigene Assessment of Biodiversity of Diatom(Bacillariophyceae) Assemblages from the Littoral Zone of the Bohai and Yellow Seas in Yantai Region of Northeast China with some Remarks on Ubiquitous Taxa

Diatoms are important contributors to the benthic microeukaryote flora. This manuscript lays the foundation for future metagenomic and environmental sequencing projects off coastal China by curating diatom DNA sequences from the Yantai region of the Bohai and Yellow Seas (Northeast China). These studies are based on cultures established from samples collected in different seasons from marine littoral and supralittoral zones in 2013 and 2014. Thirty-six diatom strains were cultured successfully and identification of these clones was determined by light and scanning electron microscopy(LM and SEM) and DNA sequencing of the nuclear-encoded small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU) and chloroplast-encoded rbcL and psbC genes. The strains primarily represent raphid pennate genera, such as Amphora, Amphora (Oxyamphora), Caloneis, Diploneis, Halamphora, Navicula, Nitzschia, Parlibellus, Pleurosigma, Surirella and Tryblionella. When the DNA markers from these strains were analysed in a multi-gene phylogeny, we found that some clones-particularly within the genera Amphora, Navicula and Nitzschia-show greater than expected genetic diversity despite their very similar morphology and morphometrics. We also compared the molecular and morphological identities of several seemingly ubiquitous marine littoral taxa in the genera Amphora and Nitzschia from the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea and Adriatic Sea to their Yellow Sea counterparts