From the discovery of topological insulators to the search for Majorana fermions – topological states of matter have revolutionised condensed matter research. In order to fulfil the promise of topology-based technology in the future, it will be essential to engineer such systems.

In particular, I will show how to create topological superconductivity by depositing magnetic atoms on the surface of a conventional superconducting substrate. Such a topological superconductor can host Majorana fermions, exotic quasi-particles which are believed to be useful for future topological quantum computers. By designing the magnetic surface structure we can manipulate the Majorana modes, thus opening the door towards Majorana-based devices.

Presenter

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  Dr Stephan Rachel, School of Physics, University of Melbourne