Abstract: Research in quantum computing has offered many new physical insights as well as the potential of exponentially increasing the computational power that can be harnessed to solve important problems in science and technology. The largest fundamental barrier to building a scalable quantum computer is errors caused by decoherence. Topological quantum computing overcomes this barrier by exploiting topological materials which, by their nature, limit errors. In this talk, I will discuss how to engineer topological superconductors at the interface of a conventional superconductor and a semiconductor with spin-orbit interaction.
I will review recent experiments aiming to detect Majorana zero-energy modes at the ends of the proximitized nanowires. Finally, I will present designs for scalable quantum
computers composed of qubits involving superconducting islands in a Coulomb blockade regime hosting aggregates of four or more Majorana zero modes.