Irreversible magnetization switching at the onset of superconductivity in a superconductor ferromagnet hybrid
Date
30/12/2015Author
Funder
Grant ID
EP/J01060X/1
Metadata
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Abstract
We demonstrate that the magnetic state of a superconducting spin valve, that is normally controlled with an external magnetic field, can also be manipulated by varying the temperature which increases the functionality and flexibility of such structures as switching elements. In this case, switching is driven by changes in the magnetostatic energy due to spontaneous Meissner screening currents forming in the superconductor below the critical temperature. Our scanning Hall probe measurements also reveal vortex-mediated pinning of the ferromagnetic domain structure due to the pinning of quantized stray fields in the adjacent superconductor. The ability to use temperature as well as magnetic field to control the local magnetisation structure raises the prospect of potential applications in magnetic memory devices.
Citation
Curran , P J , Kim , J , Satchell , N , Witt , J D S , Burnell , G , Flokstra , M G , Lee , S L , Cooper , J F K , Kinane , C J , Langridge , S , Isidori , A , Pugach , N , Eschrig , M & Bending , S J 2015 , ' Irreversible magnetization switching at the onset of superconductivity in a superconductor ferromagnet hybrid ' , Applied Physics Letters , vol. 107 , no. 26 , 262602 . https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4938467
Publication
Applied Physics Letters
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0003-6951Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4938467. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing.
Description
The authors acknowledge financial support from: EPSRC in the UK under Grant Nos. EP/G036101/1, EP/J010626/1, EP/J010634/1, EP/J01060X/1; The NanoSC COST Action MP-1201; A JEOL Europe studentship under Grant No. EP/I000933/1, plus support from the STFC ISIS neutron and muon source. Finally, from RFBR in Russia under 15-52-10045_Ko-a.Collections
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