Realizing Majorana zero modes in superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures

  • ,
  • E. P. A. M. Bakkers ,
  • Leo Kouwenhoven ,
  • Peter Krogstrup ,
  • Charles Marcus ,
  • Y. Oreg

Nat Rev Mater | , Vol 3: pp. 52-68

Realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes in the laboratory is one of the major goals in condensed matter physics. We review the current status of this rapidly-developing field, focusing on semiconductor-superconductor proposals for topological superconductivity. Material science progress and robust signatures of Majorana zero modes in recent experiments are discussed. After a brief introduction to the subject, we outline several next-generation experiments probing exotic properties of Majorana zero modes, including fusion rules and non-Abelian exchange statistics. Finally, we discuss prospects for implementing Majorana-based topological quantum computation in these systems.