Local Control of Supercurrent Density in Epitaxial Planar Josephson Junctions

Selective-Area-Grown PbTe-Pb Planar Josephson Junctions for Quantum Devices

Planar Josephson junctions are predicted to host Majorana zero modes. The material platforms in previous studies are two-dimensional electron gases (InAs, InSb, InAsSb, and HgTe) coupled to a superconductor such as Al or Nb. Here, we introduce a new material platform for planar JJs, the PbTe-Pb hybrid. The semiconductor, PbTe, was grown as a thin film via selective area epitaxy. The Josephson junction was defined by a shadow wall during the deposition of superconductor Pb. Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals a sharp semiconductor-superconductor interface. Gate-tunable supercurrents and multiple Andreev reflections are observed. A perpendicular magnetic field causes interference patterns of the switching current, exhibiting Fraunhofer-like and SQUID-like behaviors. We further demonstrate a prototype device for Majorana detection wherein phase bias and tunneling spectroscopy are applicable.

Gate-tunable superconducting diode effect in a three-terminal Josephson device

The phenomenon of non-reciprocal critical current in a Josephson device, termed the Josephson diode effect, has garnered much recent interest. Realization of the diode effect requires inversion symmetry breaking, typically obtained by spin-orbit interactions. Here we report observation of the Josephson diode effect in a three-terminal Josephson device based upon an InAs quantum well two-dimensional electron gas proximitized by an epitaxial aluminum superconducting layer. We demonstrate that the diode efficiency in our devices can be tuned by a small out-of-plane magnetic field or by electrostatic gating. We show that the Josephson diode effect in these devices is a consequence of the artificial realization of a current-phase relation that contains higher harmonics. We also show nonlinear DC intermodulation and simultaneous two-signal rectification, enabled by the multi-terminal nature of the devices. Furthermore, we show that the diode effect is an inherent property of multi-terminal Josephson devices, establishing an immediately scalable approach by which potential applications of the Josephson diode effect can be realized, agnostic to the underlying material platform. These Josephson devices may also serve as gate-tunable building blocks in designing topologically protected qubits.

Control of Andreev Bound States Using Superconducting Phase Texture

Andreev bound states with opposite phase-inversion asymmetries are observed in local tunneling spectra at the two ends of a superconductor-semiconductor-superconductor planar Josephson junction in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field, while the nonlocal spectra remain phase symmetric. Spectral signatures agree with a theoretical model, yielding a physical picture in which phase textures in superconducting leads localize and control the position of Andreev bound states in the junction, demonstrating a simple means of controlling the position and size of Andreev states within a planar junction.

Evolution of 4π-Periodic Supercurrent in the Presence of an In-Plane Magnetic Field

In the presence of a 4π-periodic contribution to the current phase relation, for example in topological Josephson junctions, odd Shapiro steps are expected to be missing. While missing odd Shapiro steps have been observed in several material systems and interpreted in the context of topological superconductivity, they have also been observed in topologically trivial junctions. Here, we study the evolution of such trivial missing odd Shapiro steps in Al-InAs junctions in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field B^θ. We find that the odd steps reappear at a crossover B^θ value, exhibiting an in-plane field angle anisotropy that depends on spin-orbit coupling effects. We interpret this behavior by theoretically analyzing the Andreev bound state spectrum and the transitions induced by the nonadiabatic dynamics of the junction and attribute the observed anisotropy to mode-to-mode coupling. Our results highlight the complex phenomenology of missing Shapiro steps and the underlying current phase relations in planar Josephson junctions designed to realize Majorana states.

Fusion of Majorana bound states with mini-gate control in two-dimensional systems

A hallmark of topological superconductivity is the non-Abelian statistics of Majorana bound states (MBS), its chargeless zero-energy emergent quasiparticles. The resulting fractionalization of a single electron, stored nonlocally as a two spatially-separated MBS, provides a powerful platform for implementing fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. However, despite intensive efforts, experimental support for MBS remains indirect and does not probe their non-Abelian statistics. Here we propose how to overcome this obstacle in mini-gate controlled planar Josephson junctions (JJs) and demonstrate non-Abelian statistics through MBS fusion, detected by charge sensing using a quantum point contact, based on dynamical simulations. The feasibility of preparing, manipulating, and fusing MBS in two-dimensional (2D) systems is supported in our experiments which demonstrate the gate control of topological transition and superconducting properties with five mini gates in InAs/Al-based JJs. While we focus on this well-established platform, where the topological superconductivity was already experimentally detected, our proposal to identify elusive non-Abelian statistics motivates also further MBS studies in other gate-controlled 2D systems.