Vortex control in superconducting Corbino geometry networks

Abstract

In superconductors, vortices induced by a magnetic field are nucleated where some random fluctuations determine the nucleation position, and then may be pinned by impurities or boundaries, impeding the development of vortex-based quantum devices. Here, we propose a superconducting structure, which allows to nucleate and control vortices on-demand by controlling magnetic fields and currents. Using time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, we study a driven vortex motion in two-dimensional Corbino geometries of superconductor-normal metal-superconductor Josephson junctions. We remedy the randomness of nucleation by introducing normal conducting rails to the Corbino disk to guide the nucleation process and motion of vortices towards the junction. We elaborate on the consequences of rail-vortex and vortex-vortex interactions to the quantization of resistance across the junction. Finally, we simulate the nucleations and manipulations of two and four vortices in Corbino networks, and discuss its application to Majorana zero mode braiding operations. Our study provides a potential route towards quantum computation with non-Abelian anyons.

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