Quantum point contact as a probe of a topological superconductor

Abstract

We calculate the conductance of a ballistic point contact to a superconducting wire, produced by the s-wave proximity effect in a semiconductor with spin-orbit coupling in a parallel magnetic field. The conductance G as a function of contact width or Fermi energy shows plateaux at half-integer multiples of 4e2/h if the superconductor is in a topologically nontrivial phase. In contrast, the plateaux are at the usual integer multiples in the topologically trivial phase. Disorder destroys all plateaux except the first, which remains precisely quantized, consistent with previous results for a tunnel contact. The advantage of a ballistic contact over a tunnel contact as a probe of the topological phase is the strongly reduced sensitivity to finite voltage or temperature. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.