Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spin Polarization and Suppression of Superconductivity at Nanoscale Ferromagnet–Superconductor Interfaces

  • Published:
Journal of Low Temperature Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We have investigated point contacts between ferromagnetic Fe and different BCS-type superconductors using Andreev reflection spectroscopy. With the standard BTK-type analysis, the extracted spin polarization of Fe does not depend on the superconductor and agrees well with literature data. However, the characteristics of the Andreev reflection spectra vary with the superconductor. While most of the contacts with the strong superconductors Nb and Ta appear to be barely affected by the presence of Fe, the contacts with weaker superconductors Sn and Al have a reduced critical temperature \(T_\mathrm{c}\) and occasionally a second superconducting transition at still lower temperature, and contacts with the weakest superconductor Zn have strongly reduced superconducting anomalies. We propose that this variation is related to the magnetic field generated by the ferromagnetic electrode, which can also affect the extracted spin polarization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. G. Busch, M. Campagna, H.C. Siegmann, Phys. Rev. B 4, 746 (1971). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.4.746

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. G. Busch, M. Campagna, P. Cotti, H.C. Siegmann, Phys. Rev. Lett. 22, 597 (1969). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.22.597

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. R. Meservey, P.M. Tedrow, Phys. Rep. 238, 173 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. M. Julliere, Phys. Lett. 54A, 225 (1975)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. S. Yuasa, D.D. Djayaprawira, J. Phys. D 40, R337 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. G.E. Blonder, M. Tinkham, T.M. Klapwijk, Phys. Rev. B 25, 4515 (1982)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. M.J.M. deJong, C.W.J. Beenakker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 1657 (1995). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.1657

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. R.J. Soulen, J.M. Byers, M.S. Osofsky, B. Nadgorny, T. Ambrose, S.F. Cheng, P.R. Broussard, C.T. Tanaka, J. Nowak, J.S. Moodera, A. Barry, J.M.D. Coey, Science 282, 85 (1998). doi:10.1126/science.282.5386.85

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. B. Nadgorny, I.I. Mazin, M. Osofsky, R.J. Soulen, P. Broussard, R.M. Stroud, D.J. Singh, V.G. Harris, A. Arsenov, Y. Mukovskii, Phys. Rev. B 63, 184433 (2001). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.63.184433

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. J.S. Parker, S.M. Watts, P.G. Ivanov, P. Xiong, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 196601 (2002). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.196601

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. T. Löfwander, R. Grein, M. Eschrig, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 207001 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. C.S. Turel, I.J. Guilaran, P. Xiong, J.Y.T. Wei, Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 192508 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. G.J. Strijkers, Y. Ji, F.Y. Yang, C.L. Chien, J.M. Byers, Phys. Rev. B 63, 104510 (2001). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.63.104510

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. C.H. Kant, O. Kurnosikov, A.T. Filip, P. LeClair, H.J.M. Swagten, W.J.M. deJonge, Phys. Rev. B 66, 212403 (2002). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.66.212403

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. J.P. DeGrave, A.L. Schmitt, R.S. Selinsky, J.M. Higgins, D.J. Keavney, S. Jin, Nano Lett. 11, 4431 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. S. Mukhopadhyay, P. Raychaudhuri, D.A. Joshi, C.V. Tomy, Phys. Rev. B 75, 014504 (2007). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.75.014504

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. K. Xia, P.J. Kelly, G.E.W. Bauer, I. Turek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 166603 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. P. Chalsani, S.K. Upadhyay, O. Ozatay, R.A. Buhrman, Phys. Rev. B 75, 094417 (2007). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.75.094417

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. R.C. Dynes, J.P. Garno, G.B. Hertel, T.P. Orlando, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 2437 (1984). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.53.2437

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. A. Pleceník, M. Grajcar, V. Beňačka, P. Seidel, A. Pfuch, Phys. Rev. B 49, 10016 (1994). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.49.10016

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Y. Bugoslavsky, Y. Miyoshi, S.K. Clowes, W.R. Branford, M. Lake, I. Brown, A.D. Caplin, L.F. Cohen, Phys. Rev. B 71, 104523 (2005). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.71.104523

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. G.T. Woods, R.J. Soulen, I. Mazin, B. Nadgorny, M.S. Osofsky, J. Sanders, H. Srikanth, W.F. Egelhoff, R. Datla, Phys. Rev. B 70, 054416 (2004). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.70.054416

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. E. Tuuli, K. Gloos, Low Temp. Phys. 37, 609 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. S.V. Karthik, T.M. Nakatani, A. Rajanikanth, Y.K. Takahashi, K. Hono, J. Appl. Phys. 105, 07C916 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. M.S. Osofsky, L. Cheng, W.E. Bailey, K. Bussmann, D. Parker, Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 212412 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. T.M. Nakatani, A. Rajanikanth, Z. Gercsi, Y.K. Takahashi, K. Inomata, K. Hono, J. Appl. Phys. 102(3), 033916 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Y. Naidyuk, I.K. Yanson, Point-Contact Spectroscopy (Springer, New York, 2005)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  28. K.Gloos, Low Temp. Phys. 36, 935 (2009). [Fiz. Nizk. Temp. 36, 1204 (2009)].

  29. K. Gloos, E. Tuuli, Fiz. Nizk. Temp. 40, 1155 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Y.V. Sharvin, Sov. Phys. - JETP 21, 655 (1965)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. B.T. Matthias, H. Suhl, E. Corenzwit, Phys. Rev. Lett. 1, 92 (1958). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.1.92

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. S. Parham, T.J. Reber, Y. Cao, J.A. Waugh, Z. Xu, J. Schneeloch, R.D. Zhong, G. Gu, G. Arnold, D.S. Dessau, Phys. Rev. B 87, 104501 (2013). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.87.104501

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. Y. deWilde, T.M. Klapwijk, A. Jansen, J. Heil, P. Wyder, Phys. B 218, 165 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. P.A.M. Benistant, A.P. van Gelder, H. van Kempen, P. Wyder, Phys. Rev. B 32, 3351 (1985)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. P.C. van Son, H. van kempen, P. Wyder, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2226 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Y. Miyoshi, Y. Bugoslavsky, L.F. Cohen, Phys. Rev. B 72, 012502 (2005). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.72.012502

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. E. Tuuli, K. Gloos, J. Phys. 400, 042065 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  38. K. Gloos, E. Tuuli, J. Korean Phys. Soc. 62, 1575 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. E. Tuuli, K. Gloos, J. Phys. 400, 042066 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Y. Naidyuk, R. Häussler, H. von Löhneysen, Phys. B 218, 122 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. Y.G. Naidyuk, H. von Löhneysen, I.K. Yanson, Phys. Rev. B 54, 16077 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation for financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wihuri Physical Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    Elina Tuuli & Kurt Gloos

  2. National Doctoral Programme in Nanoscience (NGS-NANO), University of Jyväskylä, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Elina Tuuli

  3. Turku University Centre for Materials and Surfaces (MatSurf), 20014, Turku, Finland

    Kurt Gloos

Authors
  1. Elina Tuuli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kurt Gloos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elina Tuuli.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tuuli, E., Gloos, K. Spin Polarization and Suppression of Superconductivity at Nanoscale Ferromagnet–Superconductor Interfaces. J Low Temp Phys 178, 367–382 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-014-1263-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-014-1263-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation