Hard Superconducting Gap in InSb Nanowires.

Topological superconductivity is a state of matter that can host Majorana modes, the building blocks of a topological quantum computer. Many experimental platforms predicted to show such a topological state rely on proximity-induced superconductivity. However, accessing the topological properties requires an induced hard superconducting gap, which is challenging to achieve for most material systems. We have systematically studied how the interface between an InSb semiconductor nanowire and a NbTiN superconductor affects the induced superconducting properties. Step by step, we improve the homogeneity of the interface while ensuring a barrier-free electrical contact to the superconductor and obtain a hard gap in the InSb nanowire. The magnetic field stability of NbTiN allows the InSb nanowire to maintain a hard gap and a supercurrent in the presence of magnetic fields (∼0.5 T), a requirement for topological superconductivity in one-dimensional systems. Our study provides a guideline to induce superconductivity in various experimental platforms such as semiconductor nanowires, two-dimensional electron gases, and topological insulators and holds relevance for topological superconductivity and quantum computation.

Molecular Fountain.

The resolution of any spectroscopic or interferometric experiment is ultimately limited by the total time a particle is interrogated. Here we demonstrate the first molecular fountain, a development which permits hitherto unattainably long interrogation times with molecules. In our experiments, ammonia molecules are decelerated and cooled using electric fields, launched upwards with a velocity between 1.4 and 1.9 m/s and observed as they fall back under gravity. A combination of quadrupole lenses and bunching elements is used to shape the beam such that it has a large position spread and a small velocity spread (corresponding to a transverse temperature of <10 µK and a longitudinal temperature of <1 µK) when the molecules are in free fall, while being strongly focused at the detection region. The molecules are in free fall for up to 266 ms, making it possible, in principle, to perform sub-Hz measurements in molecular systems and paving the way for stringent tests of fundamental physics theories.

Static trapping of polar molecules in a traveling wave decelerator.

We present experiments on decelerating and trapping ammonia molecules using a combination of a Stark decelerator and a traveling wave decelerator. In the traveling wave decelerator, a moving potential is created by a series of ring-shaped electrodes to which oscillating high voltages (HV) are applied. By lowering the frequency of the applied voltages, the molecules confined in the moving trap are decelerated and brought to a standstill. As the molecules are confined in a true 3D well, this kind of deceleration has practically no losses, resulting in a great improvement on the usual Stark deceleration techniques. The necessary voltages are generated by amplifying the output of an arbitrary wave generator using fast HV amplifiers, giving us great control over the trapped molecules. We illustrate this by experiments in which we adiabatically cool trapped NH3 and ND3 molecules and resonantly excite their motion.

Velocity map imaging of a slow beam of ammonia molecules inside a quadrupole guide.

Velocity map imaging inside an electrostatic quadrupole guide is demonstrated. By switching the voltages that are applied to the rods, the quadrupole can be used for guiding Stark decelerated molecules and for extracting the ions. The extraction field is homogeneous along the axis of the quadrupole, while it defocuses the ions in the direction perpendicular to both the axis of the quadrupole and the axis of the ion optics. To compensate for this astigmatism, a series of planar electrodes with horizontal and vertical slits is used. A velocity resolution of 35 m s(-1) is obtained. It is shown that signal due to thermal background can be eliminated, resulting in the detection of slow molecules with an increased signal-to-noise ratio. As an illustration of the resolving power we have used the velocity map imaging system to characterize the phase-space distribution of a Stark decelerated ammonia beam.

Shadow-wall lithography of ballistic superconductor-semiconductor quantum devices.

The realization of hybrid superconductor-semiconductor quantum devices, in particular a topological qubit, calls for advanced techniques to readily and reproducibly engineer induced superconductivity in semiconductor nanowires. Here, we introduce an on-chip fabrication paradigm based on shadow walls that offers substantial advances in device quality and reproducibility. It allows for the implementation of hybrid quantum devices and ultimately topological qubits while eliminating fabrication steps such as lithography and etching. This is critical to preserve the integrity and homogeneity of the fragile hybrid interfaces. The approach simplifies the reproducible fabrication of devices with a hard induced superconducting gap and ballistic normal-/superconductor junctions. Large gate-tunable supercurrents and high-order multiple Andreev reflections manifest the exceptional coherence of the resulting nanowire Josephson junctions. Our approach enables the realization of 3-terminal devices, where zero-bias conductance peaks emerge in a magnetic field concurrently at both boundaries of the one-dimensional hybrids.

Ballistic superconductivity in semiconductor nanowires.

Semiconductor nanowires have opened new research avenues in quantum transport owing to their confined geometry and electrostatic tunability. They have offered an exceptional testbed for superconductivity, leading to the realization of hybrid systems combining the macroscopic quantum properties of superconductors with the possibility to control charges down to a single electron. These advances brought semiconductor nanowires to the forefront of efforts to realize topological superconductivity and Majorana modes. A prime challenge to benefit from the topological properties of Majoranas is to reduce the disorder in hybrid nanowire devices. Here we show ballistic superconductivity in InSb semiconductor nanowires. Our structural and chemical analyses demonstrate a high-quality interface between the nanowire and a NbTiN superconductor that enables ballistic transport. This is manifested by a quantized conductance for normal carriers, a strongly enhanced conductance for Andreev-reflecting carriers, and an induced hard gap with a significantly reduced density of states. These results pave the way for disorder-free Majorana devices.