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arXiv · 1303.1187

Superconducting proximity effect in semiconductor nanowires

Tudor D. Stanescu·S. Das Sarma
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Abstract

We theoretically consider the proximity effect in semiconductor-superconductor hybrid nanostructures, which are being extensively studied in the context of the ongoing search for non-Abelian Majorana fermions in solid state systems. Specifically, we consider the dependence on the thickness of the semiconductor in the direction normal to the interface, a physical effect that has been uncritically neglected in all prior work on the subject. Quite surprisingly, we find the completely unanticipated result that increasing the semiconductor thickness leads to a drastic suppression of the induced superconducting gap due to proximity-induced interband coupling. As a result, in the limit of strong semiconductor-superconductor coupling, the proximity-induced gap becomes much smaller than the bulk superconductor gap and depends weakly on the interface transparency.

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Tudor D. Stanescu, S. Das Sarma. 2013-03-05. Superconducting proximity effect in semiconductor nanowires. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.87.180504

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