Protected gap closing in Josephson junctions constructed on Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$ surface

Abstract

On the road of searching for Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in topological insulator-based Josephson junctions, a highly-sought signature is the protected full transparency of electron transport through the junctions due to the existence of the MZMs, associated with complete gap closing between the electron-like and hole-like Andreev bound states (ABSs). Here, we present direct experimental evidence of gap closing and full transparency in single Josephson junctions constructed on the surface of three-dimensional topological insulator (3D TI) Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$. Our results demonstrate that the 2D surface of 3D TIs provides a promising platform for hosting and manipulating MZMs.

8 pages, 8 figures

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• Transport in two-dimensional topological materials: recent developments in experiment and theory