Ballistic superconductivity and tunable π-junctions in InSb quantum wells

Planar Josephson junctions (JJs) made in semiconductor quantum wells with large spin-orbit coupling are capable of hosting topological superconductivity. Indium antimonide (InSb) two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) are particularly suited for this due to their large Lande g-factor and high carrier mobility, however superconducting hybrids in these 2DEGs remain unexplored. Here we create JJs in high quality InSb 2DEGs and provide evidence of ballistic superconductivity over micron-scale lengths. A Zeeman field produces distinct revivals of the supercurrent in the junction, associated with a 0−π transition. We show that these transitions can be controlled by device design, and tuned in-situ using gates. A comparison between experiments and the theory of ballistic π-Josephson junctions gives excellent quantitative agreement. Our results therefore establish InSb quantum wells as a promising new material platform to study the interplay between superconductivity, spin-orbit interaction and magnetism. Hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices offer a promising platform for topological superconductivity. Here, Ke and Moehle et al. create ballistic Josephson junctions in InSb quantum wells and use magnetic and electric fields to control their free energy landscape.