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Hybrid structures between conventional, s-wave superconductors, and two-dimensional topological insulators (2D TIs) are a promising route to topological superconductivity. Here, we investigate planar Josephson junctions fabricated from hybrid structures that use thin films of cadmium arsenide (Cd3As2) as the 2D TI material. Measurements of superconducting interference patterns in a perpendicular magnetic field are used to extract information about the spatial distribution of the supercurrent. We show that the interference patterns are distinctly different in junctions with and without mesa-isolation. In mesa-defined junctions, the bulk of the 2D TI appears to be almost completely shunted by supercurrent flowing along the edges, whereas the supercurrent is much more uniform across the junction when the Cd3As2 film extends beyond the device. We discuss the possible origins of the observed behaviors.

Graphene and topological insulators can feature a unique quantum Hall state with a filling factor of ν = 0 that supplies a wealth of information about the nature of the underlying electronic states. Here, we report on the observation of a ν = 0 Hall state in magnetotransport experiments on a 20-nm-thin, (001)-oriented cadmium arsenide film that is tuned by a gate voltage. While cadmium arsenide is a topological semimetal as a bulk material, thin films can host topological insulator phases. At high magnetic fields, we observe a highly resistive ν = 0 Hall state that we attribute to a widening gap between two zeroth Landau levels as the magnetic field is increased. We discuss possible scenarios that could give rise to the lifting of the degeneracy of zeroth Landau levels. Our results are most consistent with a scenario of hybridization of the topological surface states induced by quantum confinement.