Induced gap in topological materials from the superconducting proximity effect

Topological superconductivity has been of considerable interest lately, with several proposed experimental realizations in solid state systems. A heterostructure of s-wave superconductor and 3D topological insulator is one of the more promising platforms, with topological superconductivity realized on the "naked" surface of the topological insulator through the superconducting proximity effect. We theoretically study the induced superconducting gap on the naked surface. Adjusting the Fermi level above the bulk gap (which is the case in experiments), our results for the induced superconducting gap are in agreement with that probed in thin topological insulators (\textless 10nm) in the experiments (Nat. Phys. 10, 943-950 (2014) and Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 217001 (2014)). We further predict the gap in thick topological insulators (\textgreater 10nm). This work is supported by LPS-MPO-CMTC, Microsoft Q, and JQI-NSF-PFC.