A unified numerical approach to semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive numerical method for modeling semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures, incorporating key physical effects to analyze topological phases in nanowires with potential applications in quantum computing.

Contribution

It introduces a unified numerical framework that simultaneously considers superconductivity, magnetic effects, spin-orbit coupling, and electrostatics in heterostructures.

Findings

Qualitative agreement with experimental data for InAs/Al nanowires

Characterization of topological superconducting phases under magnetic fields

Calculation of topological phase diagrams for nanowire systems

Abstract

We develop a unified numerical approach for modeling semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures. Our approach takes into account on equal footing important key ingredients: proximity-induced superconductivity, orbital and Zeeman effect of an applied magnetic field, spin-orbit coupling as well as the electrostatic environment. As a model system, we consider indium arsenide (InAs) nanowires with epitaxial aluminum (Al) shell and demonstrate qualitative agreement of the obtained results with the existing experimental data. Finally, we characterize the topological superconducting phase emerging in a finite magnetic field and calculate the corresponding topological phase diagram.