Flux-induced topological superconductor in planar Josephson junction

Jie Liu; Yijia Wu; Qing-Feng Sun; X. C. Xie

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.100.235131

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Flux-induced topological superconductor in planar Josephson junction

Jie Liu, Yijia Wu, Qing-Feng Sun, X. C. Xie

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.100.235131 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

A planar Josephson junction with a normal metal attached on its top surface will form a hollow nanowire structure due to its three-dimensional nature. In such hollow nanowire structure, a magnetic flux induced by a small magnetic field (about 0.01T) will tune the system into topologically nontrivial phase. Therefore two Majorana zero modes will form at the ends of the nanowire. Through tuning the chemical potential of the normal metal, the topologically nontrivial phase can be obtained for almost all the energy within the band. Furthermore, the system can be conveniently tuned between the topologically trivial and nontrivial phases via the phase difference between the two superconductor bulks. Such device, manipulable through flux, can be conveniently fabricated into desired 2D networks. Finally, we also propose a cross-shaped junction realizing the braiding of Majorana zero modes through manipulating the phase differences.