Molecular Beam Epitaxy System

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: Funded in 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392425600

The head of the group is a leading researcher of topological insulators and topological superconductors, who recently moved from Osaka to Cologne. An important part of the research of the group concerns thin-film growths and device fabrications. One of the current main objectives of their research is to elucidate the novel physics associated with Majorana fermions, which are the exotic quasiparticles expected to appear in topological superconductors. The molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system is an important tool for growing highquality thin films to realize the platform to harbor Majorana fermions. Although the group has two MBE systems brought from Osaka, they are small, low-cost machines with a compromised base pressure, which limits the quality of the grown films and the group has been unable to observe signatures of Majorana fermions. Hence, a new machine with an order of magnitude better vacuum is necessary for improving the mobility of the grown samples to achieve a long scattering time for Majorana fermions. Also, the conceived platforms for Majorana fermions are based on advanced heterostructures, which require a relatively large-scale MBE system equipped with a sufficient number of source flanges.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Molecular Beam Epitaxy System
• Instrumentation Group: 0920 Atom- und Molekularstrahl-Apparaturen
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Leader: Professor Dr. Yoichi Ando