Experimental review on Majorana zero-modes in hybrid nanowires

Abstract

As the condensed matter analog of Majorana fermion, the Majorana zero-mode is well known as a building block of fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. This review focuses on the recent progress of Majorana experiments, especially experiments about semiconductor-superconductor hybrid devices. We first sketch Majorana zero-mode formation from a bottom-up view, which is more suitable for beginners and experimentalists. Then, we survey the status of zero-energy state signatures reported recently, from zero-energy conductance peaks, the oscillations, the quantization, and the interactions with extra degrees of freedom. We also give prospects of future experiments for advancing one-dimensional semiconductor nanowire-superconductor hybrid materials and devices.