Topological Superconductors from a Materials Perspective

Manasi Mandal; Nathan C Drucker; Phum Siriviboon; Thanh Nguyen; Artittaya Boonkird; Tej Nath Lamichhane; Ryotaro Okabe; Abhijatmedhi Chotrattanapituk; Mingda Li

doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c00713

Topological Superconductors from a Materials Perspective

Chem Mater. 2023 Aug 1;35(16):6184-6200. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c00713. eCollection 2023 Aug 22.

Authors

Manasi Mandal^{1

2}, Nathan C Drucker^{1

3}, Phum Siriviboon⁴, Thanh Nguyen^{1

2}, Artittaya Boonkird^{1

2}, Tej Nath Lamichhane^{1

2}, Ryotaro Okabe^{1

5}, Abhijatmedhi Chotrattanapituk^{1

6}, Mingda Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Quantum Measurement Group, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
² Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
³ School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
⁴ Department of Physics, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
⁶ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.

PMID: 37637011
PMCID: PMC10448998 (available on 2024-08-01)
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c00713

Abstract

Topological superconductors (TSCs) have garnered significant research and industry attention in the past two decades. By hosting Majorana bound states which can be used as qubits that are robust against local perturbations, TSCs offer a promising platform toward (nonuniversal) topological quantum computation. However, there has been a scarcity of TSC candidates, and the experimental signatures that identify a TSC are often elusive. In this Perspective, after a short review of the TSC basics and theories, we provide an overview of the TSC materials candidates, including natural compounds and synthetic material systems. We further introduce various experimental techniques to probe TSCs, focusing on how a system is identified as a TSC candidate and why a conclusive answer is often challenging to draw. We conclude by calling for new experimental signatures and stronger computational support to accelerate the search for new TSC candidates.

Publication types

Review