Majorana fermions in a tunable semiconductor device

TL;DR

This paper proposes a tunable semiconductor device with an in-plane magnetic field to realize Majorana fermions, offering a simpler architecture and enhanced control for topological quantum computation.

Contribution

It introduces an alternative setup for Majorana fermions using a (110)-grown semiconductor with an in-plane magnetic field, simplifying the device design and tuning capabilities.

Findings

The proposed device can be tuned across a quantum phase transition.

It largely avoids unwanted orbital effects.

Experimental feasibility is discussed in detail.

Abstract

The experimental realization of Majorana fermions presents an important problem due to their non-Abelian nature and potential exploitation for topological quantum computation. Very recently Sau et al. [arXiv:0907.2239] demonstrated that a topological superconducting phase supporting Majorana fermions can be realized using surprisingly conventional building blocks: a semiconductor quantum well coupled to an s-wave superconductor and a ferromagnetic insulator. Here we propose an alternative setup, wherein a topological superconducting phase is driven by applying an in-plane magnetic field to a (110)-grown semiconductor coupled only to an s-wave superconductor. This device offers a number of advantages, notably a simpler architecture and the ability to tune across a quantum phase transition into the topological superconducting state, while still largely avoiding unwanted orbital effects. Experimental feasibility of both setups is discussed in some detail.