Unusual and topological superconductivity

SC
Topological superconductors (TSCs) have gained recent interest since the non-Abelian edge modes of a TSC, known as Majorana modes, can form the basis of a topologically-protected qubit.  Here, non-Abelian refers to the fact that quantum operations can be encoded in the braiding, or spatial exchange, of these Majorana modes. We aim to study topological superconductivity by inducing superconductivity in the integer and fractional quantum Hall edge. This is achieved by incorporating the superconductor niobium nitride, which has a large critical magnetic field, into our state-of-the-art graphene heterostructures. We have observed the superconducting proximity effect in standard and multi-terminal Josephson junctions at zero field, as well as the superconducting pairing of quantum Hall edges. We are also working to extend the powerful arsenal of 2D crystal manipulation techniques to one such reactive 2D material - the prototypical cuprate high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x. Inside a high purity argon glovebox, we use a combination of cryogenic pick-up techniques for crystal stacking and high-resolution stencil masks for contact fabrication to make complex heterostructures. Our goal is to deploy the many tools available to manipulate 2D materials, to uncover new physics in the cuprates and other air-sensitive 2D materials.
 

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