Long-range Kitaev Chains via Planar Josephson Junctions

We show how a recently proposed solid state Majorana platform comprising a planar Josephson junction proximitized to a 2D electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and Zeeman field can be viewed as an effectively one dimensional (1D) Kitaev chain with long-range pairing and hopping terms. We highlight how the couplings of the 1D system may be tuned by changing experimentally realistic parameters. We also show that the mapping is robust to disorder by computing the Clifford pseudospectrum index in real space for the long-range Kitaev chain across several topological phases. This mapping opens up the possibility of using current experimental setups to explore 1D topological superconductors with non-standard, and tunable couplings.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures; version to appear in Physical Review B, includes new appendi

Superconducting proximity effect in epitaxial Al-InAs heterostructures

Semiconductor-based Josephson junctions provide a platform for studying proximity effect due to the possibility of tuning junction properties by gate voltage and large-scale fabrication of complex Josephson circuits. Recently Josephson junctions using InAs weak link with epitaxial aluminum contact have improved the product of normal resistance and critical current, $I_cR_N$, in addition to fabrication process reliability. Here we study similar devices with epitaxial contact and find large supercurrent and substantial product of $I_cR_N$ in our junctions. However we find a striking difference when we compare these samples with higher mobility samples in terms of product of excess current and normal resistance, $I_{ex}R_N$. The excess current is negligible in lower mobility devices while it is substantial and independent of gate voltage and junction length in high mobility samples. This indicates that even though both sample types have epitaxial contacts only the high-mobility one has a high transparency interface. In the high mobility short junctions, we observe values of $I_cR_N/\Delta \sim 2.2$ and $I_{ex}R_N/\Delta \sim 1.5$ in semiconductor weak links

Transport Properties of Near Surface InAs Two-dimensional Heterostructures

Two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) confined to the surface of narrowband semiconductors have attracted great interest since they can easily integrate with superconductivity (or ferromagnetism) enabling new possibilities in hybrid device architectures and study of exotic states in proximity of superconductors. In this work, we study indium arsenide heterostructures where combination of clean interface with superconductivity, high mobility and spin-orbit coupling can be achieved. The weak antilocalization measurements indicate presence of strong spin-orbit coupling at high densities. We study the magnetotransport as a function of top barrier and density and report clear observation of integer quantum Hall states. We report improved electron mobility reaching up to 44,000 cm$^{2}$/Vs in undoped heterstructures and well developed integer quantum Hall states starting as low as 2.5~T

Zero-Energy Modes from Coalescing Andreev States in a Two-Dimensional Semiconductor-Superconductor Hybrid Platform

We investigate zero-bias conductance peaks that arise from coalescing subgap Andreev states, consistent with emerging Majorana zero modes, in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor wires defined in a two-dimensional InAs/Al heterostructure using top-down lithography and gating. The measurements indicate a hard superconducting gap, ballistic tunneling contact, and in-plane critical fields up to $3$~T. Top-down lithography allows complex geometries, branched structures, and straightforward scaling to multicomponent devices compared to structures made from assembled nanowires.Comment: Includes Supplementary Materia