On real matrices with positive definite symmetric component

Inequalities concerning real square matrices A with positive definite symmetric component A+A^*are derived from certain inertia relations which hold for any complex (not necessarily real) square matrices A with positive definite

A+A^*     

Superconducting current in hybrid structures with an antiferromagnetic interlayer

It is shown experimentally that the superconducting current density in Nb/Au/Ca_{1 − x} Sr _x CuO₂/YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 − δ} hybrid superconducting heterostructures with a Ca_{1 − x} Sr _x CuO₂ anti-ferromagnetic (AF) cuprate interlayer is anomalously high for interlayer thicknesses d _M = 10–50 nm and the characteristic damping length for superconducting correlations is on the order of 10 nm. The experimental results are explained on the basis of theoretical analysis of a junction of two superconductors (S′ and S) connected by a magnetic multilayer with the AF ordering of magnetization in the layers. It is shown that with such a magnetization ordering, anomalous proximity effect determined by the singlet component of the condensate wavefunction may take place. As a result, the critical currents in S′/I/AF/S and S′/I/N/S structures (I denotes an insulator, and N, the normal metal) may coincide in order of magnitude even when the thickness of the AF interlayer considerably exceeds the decay length of the condensate wavefunction in ferromagnetic layers.     

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.     

Temperature Dependence of the Voltage Induced by Spin Current in a Manganite–Iridate Heterostructure

Physics of the Solid State - The temperature dependence of the voltage induced by spin current is studied in the epitaxial thin-film La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrIrO3 heterostructure deposited on a...     

Magnetic proximity effect at the interface between a cuprate superconductor and an oxide spin valve

A heterostructure that consists of the YBa₂Cu₃O_7–δ cuprate superconductor and the SrRuO₃/La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ ruthenate/manganite spin valve is investigated using SQUID magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance, and neutron reflectometry. It is shown that a magnetic moment is induced due to the magnetic proximity effect in the superconducting part of the heterostructure, while the magnetic moment in the composite ferromagnetic interlayer is suppressed. The magnetization emerging in the superconductor coincides in order of magnitude with the results of calculations taking into account the induced magnetic moment of Cu atoms because of orbital reconstruction at the interface between the superconductor and the ferromagnet, as well as with the results of the model taking into account the variations in the density of states at a distance on the order of the coherence length in the superconductor. The experimentally obtained characteristic penetration depth of the magnetic moment in the superconductor considerably exceeds the coherence length of the cuprate superconductor, which indicates the predominance of the mechanism of induced magnetic moment of Cu atoms.     

Triplet superconducting correlations in oxide heterostructures with a composite ferromagnetic interlayer

The superconducting current induced by the penetration of the long-range triplet component of superconducting correlations into a composite ferromagnetic interlayer has been detected in mesa-heterostructures based on oxide cuprate superconductors YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 ? δ} and Au/Nb bilayer films with the composite oxide interlayer that is made of ferromagnetic films of manganite La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ and ruthenate SrRuO₃ and has a thickness much larger than the length of correlations determined by the exchange field. The deviation of the superconducting current in the mesa-heterostructure with the fraction of the second harmonic of 13% from a sinusoidal current-phase relation has been detected; this deviation can also be due to the generation of the triplet component of superconducting correlations in the ferromagnet.     

Interfaces in superconducting hybrid heterostructures with an antiferromagnetic interlayer

The structural, X-ray diffraction, and electrophysical studies of hybrid superconducting hetero-structures with an interlayer of cuprate antiferromagnetic Ca_{1 ? x} Sr _x CuO₂ (CSCO) with the upper electrode Nb/Au and the lower electrode Y_Ba₂Cu₃O_{7 ? δ} (YBCO) have been carried out. It has been experimentally shown that the epitaxial growth of two cuprates, YBCO and CSCO, results in the formation of an interface on which the enrichment of the CSCO interlayer with charge carriers proceeds to a depth of about 20 nm. In this case, the conduction of the enriched CSCO region proves to be closer to metallic, whereas the CSCO film deposited onto the NdGaO₃ substrate is a Mott insulator with hopping conduction.     

Josephson effect in hybrid oxide heterostructures with an antiferromagnetic layer

Josephson coupling between an s- and d-wave superconductor through a 50 nm thick Ca1-xSrxCuO2 antiferromagnetic layer was observed for the hybrid Nb/Au/Ca1-xSrxCuO2/YBa2Cu3O7-delta heterostructures and investigated as a function of temperature, magnetic field, and applied millimeter-wave electromagnetic radiation. The magnetic field dependence of the supercurrent I(c)(H) exhibits anomalously rapid oscillations, which is the first experimental evidence of the theoretically predicted giant magneto-oscillations in Josephson junctions with antiferromagnetic interlayers.