One of the key challenges in condensedmatter physics is to establish a topological superconductor that hosts exotic Majorana fermions. Although various heterostructures consisting of conventional BCS (Bardeen−Cooper−Schrieffer) superconductors as well as doped topological insulators were intensively investigated, no conclusive evidence for Majorana fermions has been provided. This is mainly because of their very low superconducting transition temperatures (T c ) and small superconducting-gap magnitude. Here, we report a possible realization of topological superconductivity at very high temperatures in a hybrid of Bi(110) ultrathin film and copper oxide superconductor Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+δ (Bi2212). Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, we found that three-bilayer-thick Bi(110) on Bi2212 exhibits a proximity-effect-induced s-wave energy gap as large as 7.5 meV which persists up to T c of Bi2212 (85 K). The small Fermi energy and strong spin−orbit coupling of Bi( 110), together with the large pairing gap and high T c , make this system a prime candidate for exploring stable Majorana fermions at very high temperatures.

We have fabricated bismuth (Bi) ultrathin films on a charge-density-wave (CDW) compound 1T-TaS and elucidated electronic states by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles band-structure calculations. We found that the Bi film on 1T-TaS undergoes a structural transition from (111) to (110) upon reducing the film thickness, accompanied by a drastic change in the energy band structure. We also revealed that while two-bilayer-thick Bi(110) film on Si(111) is characterized by a dispersive band touching the Fermi level ( E), the energy band of the same film on 1T-TaS exhibits holelike dispersion with a finite energy gap at E. We discuss the origin of such intriguing differences in terms of the CDW proximity effect.

Realization of topological superconductors (TSCs) hosting Majorana fermions is a central challenge in condensed-matter physics. One approach is to use the superconducting proximity effect (SPE) in heterostructures, where a topological insulator contacted with a superconductor hosts an effective p-wave pairing by the penetration of Cooper pairs across the interface. However, this approach suffers a difficulty in accessing the topological interface buried deep beneath the surface. Here, we propose an alternative approach to realize topological superconductivity without SPE. In a Pb(111) thin film grown on TlBiSe 2 , we discover that the Dirac-cone state of substrate TlBiSe 2 migrates to the top surface of Pb film and obtains an energy gap below the superconducting transition temperature of Pb. This suggests that a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductor is converted into a TSC by the topological proximity effect. Our discovery opens a route to manipulate topological superconducting properties of materials.