Electrical Control of Majorana Bound States Using Magnetic Stripes
Abstract
A hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowire on the top of a magnetic film in the stripe phase experiences a magnetic texture from the underlying fringing fields. The Zeeman interaction with the highly inhomogeneous magnetic textures generates a large synthetic spin-orbit coupling. We show that this platform can support the formation of Majorana bound states (MBS) localized at the ends of the nanowire. The transition to the topological superconducting phase not only depends on the nanowire parameters and stripe size but also on the relative orientation of the stripes with respect to the nanowire axis. Topological phase transitions with the corresponding emergence or destruction of MBS can be induced by reorienting the stripes or shifting their position, which can be achieved by passing a charge current through the magnetic film or by applying electrically controlled strain to it. The proposed platform removes the need for external magnetic fields and offers a noninvasive electrical tuning of MBS with the perturbation (current or strain) acting only on the magnetic film.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Applied
- Pub Date:
- September 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.12.034048
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1903.07834
- Bibcode:
- 2019PhRvP..12c4048M
- Keywords:
-
- Condensed Matter - Superconductivity
- E-Print:
- 9 pages, 6 figures