Topological superconductors (TSCs) hosting Majorana zero modes (MZMs) offer a pathway to fault-tolerant quantum computation. PdTe is a promising TSC candidate due to its topological surface states and a reasonable superconducting critical temperature of ~4.5 K. However, it has been challenging to grow PdTe thin films with bulk-like superconducting properties. Here, we show that high-quality, superconducting PdTe thin films can be grown using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The films exhibit a sharp superconducting transition (T_onset = 4.43 K with transition width of 0.06 K), comparable to that of bulk crystals. This was made possible via a topotactic transformation from a PdTe_2 buffer layer to a PdTe phase by growing Pd on top under Te-deficient conditions. Structural and transport analyses confirm the NiAs-type structure of PdTe, as well as its two-dimensional superconducting behavior and excellent air stability. These findings suggest that the MBE-grown PdTe films and their heterostructures are a promising platform for topological superconductivity and Majorana physics.
@article{arxiv.2605.20437,
title = {Superconducting PdTe Thin Film Via Topotactic Transformation, Toward Topological Superconductors},
author = {Hee Taek Yi and Min Ge and Renjie Xie and Colby J. Stoddard and David H. Yi and Xiaoyu Yuan and Xiong Yao and Seongshik Oh},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.20437},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
14 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ACS Applied Nano Materials