Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: We calculate the conductance of a ballistic point contact to a superconducting wire, produced by the s-wave proximity effect in a semiconductor with spin–orbit coupling in a parallel magnetic field. The conductance G as a function of contact width or Fermi energy shows plateaux at half-integer multiples of 4 e 2 / h if the superconductor is in a topologically nontrivial phase. In contrast, the plateaux are at the usual integer multiples in the topologically trivial phase. Disorder destroys all plateaux except the first, which remains precisely quantized, consistent with previous results for a tunnel contact. The advantage of a ballistic contact over a tunnel contact as a probe of the topological phase is the strongly reduced sensitivity to finite voltage or temperature.
Source: New Journal of Physics
Institution: Leiden University
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,610
OpenAlex ID: W1983727929