Ab initio study of Proximity-Induced Superconductivity in PbTe/Pb heterostructures

Abstract

Semiconductor-superconductor hybrid devices have been proposed as promising platforms for detecting and analyzing Majorana zero modes, which find applications in topological quantum computing. In this work, we solve the Kohn-Sham Density Functional Theory and Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations to describe the normal and superconducting properties of a PbTe/Pb heterostructure. We resolve a proximity-induced superconducting gap on the PbTe side. The hybridization between PbTe and Pb causes the emergence of a soft Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-like superconducting gap. We compute the anomalous charge density in real space, estimating its decay length and showing that the pairing potential is anisotropic, which is a necessary condition for unconventional superconductivity. Contrary to the models that predict Majorana zero modes in these interfaces, we find a significantly large Schottky barrier in the normal state preventing the emergence of zero modes. Our findings strengthen the understanding of the physics governing PbTe/Pb hybrid devices and their viability for Majorana zero modes applications.

References in corpus (28)

• The SIESTA method for ab initio order-N materials simulation
• Efficient index handling of multidimensional periodic boundary conditions
• Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices
• Majorana Fermions and a Topological Phase Transition in Semiconductor-Superconductor Heterostructures
• Optimized norm-conserving Vanderbilt pseudopotentials
• Helical liquids and Majorana bound states in quantum wires
• The PseudoDojo: Training and grading a 85 element optimized norm-conserving pseudopotential table
• The Coexistence of Superconductivity and Topological Order in the Bi2Se3 Thin Films
• SIESTA: recent developments and applications
• From Andreev to Majorana bound states in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowires
• Topological Superconductor Bi2Te3/NbSe2 heterostructures
• Topological Superconductivity in a Planar Josephson Junction
• Two-dimensional platform for networks of Majorana bound states
• Momentum space imaging of Cooper pairing in a half-Dirac-gas topological superconductor (a helical 2D topological superconductor)
• Soft Superconducting Gap in Semiconductor Majorana Nanowires
• The PSML format and library for norm-conserving pseudopotential data curation and interoperability
• Selective area epitaxy of PbTe-Pb hybrid nanowires on a lattice-matched substrate
• Numerical study of PbTe-Pb hybrid nanowires for engineering Majorana zero modes
• Large even-odd spacing and $g$-factor anisotropy in PbTe quantum dots
• Gap Anisotropy in Multiband Superconductors Based on Multiple Scattering Theory
• Proximity effect in PbTe-Pb hybrid nanowire Josephson junctions
• Selective-Area-Grown PbTe-Pb Planar Josephson Junctions for Quantum Devices
• Phenomenology of Majorana zero modes in full-shell hybrid nanowires
• $GW$ study of pressure-induced topological insulator transition in group IV-tellurides
• Signatures of Majorana Bound States in the Diffraction Patterns of Extended Superconductor-Topological Insulator-Superconductor Josephson Junctions
• Proximity effect in a superconductor-topological insulator heterostructure based on first principles
• Gate-tunable subband degeneracy in semiconductor nanowires
• Quantum size effects on Andreev transport in Nb/Au/Nb Josephson junctions: A combined ab-initio and experimental study