Peculiarities of the proximity effect in superconductor-multilayered ferromagnet structures with collinear magnetizations in ferromagnetic layers

The proximity effect is investigated theoretically in different superconducting structures including multilayered ferromagnet consisting of arbitrary number of metallic ferromagnet (F) layers. The in-plane exchange fields in the F-layers are supposed to be collinear. Different cases of the exchange fields ordering including the case of antiferromagnetic one. It is shown for the last case that the proximity effect (for the fixed thickness of the M-interlayer) increases with the growing number of the layers N and significantly depends on whether this number is odd or even. It is shown that under the condition of diffusive electron transport, the anomalous proximity effect is exhibited which is related with singlet component of the condensate Green’s function. Peculiarities of the proximity effect are analyzed for S-M, S-I-M-S, and S-M-S superconducting structures (S is a superconductor, I is an insulating layer). It is shown that when the M-structure consists of N seriously connected F₁-N-F₂-N links in which F layers are separated by normal metallic layers (N), for antiferro-magnetic ordering of the magnetization the exchange field induced enhancement of the critical current may occur.     

Magnetism in structures with ferromagnetic and superconducting layers

The influence of superconductivity on ferromagnetism in the layered Ta/V/Fe_1–x V _x /V/Fe_1–x V _x /Nb/Si structures consisting of ferromagnetic and superconducting layers is studied using polarized neutron reflection and scattering. It is experimentally shown that magnetic structures with linear sizes from 5 nm to 30 μm are formed in these layered structures at low temperatures. The magnetization of the magnetic structures is suppressed by superconductivity at temperatures below the superconducting transition temperatures in the V and Nb layers. The magnetic states of the structures are shown to undergo relaxation over a wide magnetic-field range, which is caused by changes in the states of clusters, domains, and Abrikosov vortices.     

Josephson effect in superconducting constrictions with hybrid SF electrodes: Peculiar properties determined by the misorientation of magnetizations

Josephson current in SFcFS junctions with arbitrary transparency of the constriction (c) is investigated. The emphasis is on the analysis of the supercurrent dependencies on the misorientation angle θ between the in-plane magnetizations of diffusive ferromagnetic layers (F). It is found that the current-phase relation I(φ) may be radically modified with the θ variation: the harmonic I ₁ sin φ vanishes for a definite value of θ provided that, for an identical orientation of the magnetizations (θ = 0), the junction is in the “π” state. The Josephson current may exhibit a nonmonotonic dependence on the misorientation angle both for realization of the “0” and “π” state at θ = 0. We also analyze the effect of the exchange field induced enhancement of the critical current, which may occur in a definite range of θ. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Phase transitions in hybrid SFS structures with thin superconducting layers

Features of a phase transition between 0 and π states in superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor (SFS) Josephson structures with thin superconducting layers and a ferromagnetic barrier are studied experimentally and theoretically. The dependence of the critical temperature T_c of a transition of the hybrid structure to a superconducting state on the thickness of superconducting layers d_s is analyzed by a local method involving measurements of the nonlinear microwave response of the system by a near-field probe. An anomalous increase in the measured temperature T_c at the reduction of the thickness d_s is detected and is attributed to the 0-π transition.     

Phase transitions in hybrid SFS structures with thin superconducting layers

Calculations of critical temperature T _c of the phase transition to superconducting state of a superconductor/ ferromagnet/superconductor (SFS) hybrid structure with proximity effect is performed on the base of linearized Usadel equations. It is shown that the proximity effect between S and F metals and the exchange interaction can induce an inhomogeneous superconducting state with longitudinal to layers Δ _∝ exp(ipz) modulation of the superconductivity order parameter, which is characterized by nonzero value of the wave number p, describing the Larkin–Ovchinnikov–Fulde–Ferrell instability. Influence of this instability on transitions between 0- and π-states of the SFS structure is studied. It is shown that the 0–π transition is accompanied by a nonmonotonic dependence of both the critical temperature T _c and the effective penetration depth Λ of the magnetic field into the hybrid structure on the characteristic size of the ferromagnetic region.     

Proximity effect in multilayer structures with alternating ferromagnetic and normal layers

The character of the penetration of superconducting correlations into multilayer FF…F, FNFN…FN, and NFNF…NF structures being in contact with a superconductor with the singlet pairing potential has been studied theoretically. Analytical expressions for the effective superconductivity penetration depth in such structures have been obtained in the limit of small layer thicknesses. Numerical calculations taking into account self-consistently the suppression of the superconductivity in the superconductor owing to the proximity effect have been performed at arbitrary thicknesses. A simple analytical dependence approximating the spatial variation of the Green’s function in a multilayer has been proposed. It has been shown that superconductivity is induced by the generation of two channels existing in parallel, one of which is characterized by the smooth (as in SN sandwiches) decay of the superconductivity, while damped oscillations (as in SF structures) take place in the second one.     

磁性d波超导/铁磁/磁性d波超导结中的约瑟夫森效应

通过求解磁性d波超导中的能隙和磁交换能的自洽方程, 研究磁性d波超导/铁磁/磁性d波超导结中的约瑟夫森电流. 计算结果表明: 1)临界电流随中间的铁磁层厚度呈现出两种不同周期的振荡混合, 通过增强铁磁层中的磁交换能q₀和铁磁/磁性d波超导界面处的势垒强度z₀, 短周期分量可从长周期中分离出来, 反之, 通过降低q₀和z₀, 长周期分量可从短周期中分离出来; 2)在两边磁性d波超导的磁化方向取平行时, 在取一些特定的铁磁层厚度下, 磁性d波超导中的磁交换能可增强系统的临界电流. 关键词： 磁性d波超导体 铁磁体 约瑟夫森电流     

Josephson effect in supercondutor/ferromagnetic semiconductor/superconductor junctions

Using a general expression for dc Josephson current, we study the Josephson effect in ballistic superconductor (SC)/ferromagnetic semiconductor (FS)/SC junctions, in which the mismatches of the effective mass and Fermi velocity between the FS and SC, spin polarization P in the FS, as well as strengths of potential scattering Z at the interfaces are included. It is shown that in the coherent regime, the oscillatory dependences of the maximum Josephson current on the FS layer thickness L and Josephson current on the macroscopic phase difference φ for the heavy and light holes, resulting from the spin splitting energy gained or lost by a quasiparticle Andreev-reflected at the FS/SC interface, are much different due to the different mismatches in the effective mass and Fermi velocity between the FS and the SC, which is related to the crossovers between positive (0) and negative (π) couplings or equivalently 0 and π junctions. Also, we find that, for the same reason, Z and P are required not to surpass different critical values for the Josephson currents of the heavy and light holes. Furthermore, it is found that, for the dependence of the Josephson current on φ, regardless of how L,Z, and P change, the Josephson junctions do not transit between 0 and π junctions for the light hole.     

Electron transport in a mesoscopic superconducting / ferromagnetic hybrid conductor

We present electrical transport experiments performed on submicron hybrid devices made of a ferromagnetic conductor (Co) and a superconducting (Al) electrode. The sample was patterned in order to separate the contributions of the Co conductor and of the Co-Al interface. We observed a strong influence of the Al electrode superconductivity on the resistance of the Co conductor. This effect is large only when the interface is highly transparent. We characterized the dependence of the observed resistance decrease on temperature, bias current and magnetic field. As the differential resistance of the ferromagnet exhibits a non-trivial asymmetry, we claim that the magnetic domain structure plays an important role in the electron transport properties of superconducting / ferromagnetic conductors. Received 9 July 2002 / Received in final form 22 October 2002 Published online 27 January 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: herve.courtois@grenoble.cnrs.fr RID="b" ID="b"associated to Université Joseph Fourier     

Dissipative Josephson effect in S/N/S structure with vanishingly weak Josephson coupling

A mesoscopic S/N/S structure is studied theoretically. It is shown that a Josephson effect can occur in the structure even if the distance between the superconductors is much larger than the correlation length ξ N(T) and the Josephson coupling is negligibly weak. This effect arises if an additional current I flows along the normal conductor. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 9, 624–629 (10 November 1996)     

Theory of phase dynamics in intrinsic Josephson junctions with multigap superconducting layers

We construct a theory of dynamical behavior in intrinsic Josephson junction stacks with multigap superconducting layers. The theory predicts the existence of two kinds of phase modes, one of which is the Josephson-plasma mode and other of which is the Leggett’s mode. We discuss a cooperative phenomena induced by inter-band Josephson coupling in addition to capacitive and inductive couplings between the superconducting layers.     

Exchange bias in the IrMn/Co structures with alternative sequences of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic layers

JETP Letters - The magnetic properties of Mo/IrMn/Co/Mo/SiO2/Si structures with alternative sequences of the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic layers have been studied by measuring the angular...     

Exchange bias in the IrMn/Co structures with alternative sequences of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic layers

The magnetic properties of Mo/IrMn/Co/Mo/SiO₂/Si structures with alternative sequences of the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic layers have been studied by measuring the angular dependence of the high-frequency radiation absorption in the ferromagnetic resonance region. The layers have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition in the absence of a magnetic field. It has been found that thermal annealing and cooling make it possible to create the exchange bias in the structure with the upper antiferromagnetic layer at a temperature much below the Néel temperature. At the same time, the identical heat treatment does not induce the exchange bias in the structure with the upper ferromagnetic layer. The possible mechanisms of the phenomena observed are discussed.     

Critical current in S-FNF-S Josephson structures with the noncollinear magnetization vectors of ferromagnetic films

The critical current I _C of S-FNF-S Josephson junctions, which are ferromagnet (F)-normal metal (N)-ferromagnet multilayer structures whose ends are in contact with the superconducting (S) electrodes, has been calculated. It has been shown that both the magnitude and sign of I _C depends significantly on the misorientation angle α of the magnetization vectors M _{1, 2} of the ferromagnetic films and the distance L between the superconducting electrodes. The effect of the triplet superconducting component ～〈ψ↑ψ↑〉 ～〈ψ↓ψ↓〉 appearing in the structure on I _C(α) has been analyzed. It has been proven that a new type of the π junction exists, appearing due to the superposition of two contributions to I _C that decrease monotonically with L and are damped at lengths about the coherence length of the normal metal. It has been shown that the effective control over the magnitude and sign of I _C of the structure is achieved at a small deflection of the vectors M _{1, 2} from the antiferromagnetic (M ₁ ↑↓ M ₂) configuration.     

Spin-filter tunneling in superconducting mesa structures with a ferromagnetic manganite interlayer

We have studied the current transport and magnetism in epitaxial hybrid superconducting mesa structures consisting of a cuprate superconductor and superconducting niobium with a manganite LaMnO₃ (LMO) interlayer. We have shown experimentally using magnetic resonance that the magnetization, magnetic anisotropy parameters, and transition temperature to the ferromagnetic state of the interlayer of the structures are analogous to those of an autonomous LMO film grown on a neodymium gallate substrate. The estimate of the barrier height obtained from the dependence of the characteristic resistance of mesa structures on the interlayer thickness has shown the barrier height variation with the thickness in the range of 5–30 mV. The temperature dependences of the conductivity of the mesa structure in the range between superconducting transition temperatures of the superconductors can be described in the theory taking into account the d-wave nature of the superconductivity for one of the electrodes and the spin-filtering of carriers passing through the tunnel interlayer. Spin-filtering is confirmed by the tunnel magnetoresistance and the high sensitivity of mesa structures to a weak external magnetic field in a voltage interval smaller than the gap of niobium.     

Giant magnetoresistance effect in hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor nanosystems

We theoretically investigate the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect in general magnetically modulated semiconductor nanosystems, which can be realized experimentally by depositing two parallel ferromagnetic strips on the top of a heterostructure. Here the exact magnetic profiles and arbitrary magnetization direction of ferromagnetic strips are emphasized. It is shown that a considerable GMR effect can be achieved in such nanosystems due to the significant transmission difference for electrons tunneling through parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations. It is also shown that the magnetoresistance ratio is strongly influenced by the magnetization direction of ferromagnetic strips in nanosystems, thus possibly leading to tunable GMR devices.     

Magnetoresistance effect in a hybrid ferromagnetic/semiconductor nanostructure

We propose a Magnetoresistance device in a magnetically modulated two-dimensional electron gas, which can be realized experimentally by the deposition of two parallel ferromagnetic strips on the top and bottom of a semiconductor heterostructure. It is shown that there exists a significant transmission difference for electrons through the parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations of such a device, which leads to a considerable magnetoresistance effect. It is also shown that the magnetoresistance ratio of the device depends greatly on the magnetic strength difference in the two delta barriers of the system.