Engineering Majorana corner modes from two-dimensional hexagonal crystals

Abstract

Second order topological insulator can be engineered from two-dimensional materials with strong spin-orbit coupling and in-plane Zeeman field. In proximity to superconductor, topological superconducting phase could be induced in the two-dimensional materials, which host Majorana corner modes at the intersection between two zigzag edges. Two types of tight binding models in hexagonal lattice, which include $p_{z}$ or $p_{x,y}$ orbit(s) in each lattice site, are applied to engineer two-dimensional materials in topological superconducting phase. In both models, the condition that induces the second order topological superconductor requires nonuniform value of either in-plane Zeeman fields or superconductor pairing parameters in two sublattices. The finite size effect of the second model is weaker than that of the first model.