Majorana fermions in a tunable semiconductor device

Abstract

The experimental realization of Majorana fermions presents an important problem due to their non-Abelian nature and potential exploitation for topological quantum computation. Very recently Sau et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 040502 (2010)] demonstrated that a topological superconducting phase supporting Majorana fermions can be realized using surprisingly conventional building blocks: a semiconductor quantum well coupled to an $s$-wave superconductor and a ferromagnetic insulator. Here we propose an alternative setup, wherein a topological superconducting phase is driven by applying an in-plane magnetic field to a (110)-grown semiconductor coupled only to an $s$-wave superconductor. This device offers a number of advantages, notably a simpler architecture and the ability to tune across a quantum phase transition into the topological superconducting state while still largely avoiding unwanted orbital effects. Experimental feasibility of both setups is discussed in some detail.