Remotely induced magnetism in a normal metal using a superconducting spin-valve
Abstract
Superconducting spintronics has emerged in the past decade as a promising new field that seeks to open a new dimension for nanoelectronics by utilizing the internal spin structure of the superconducting Cooper pair as a new degree of freedom1,2. Its basic building blocks are spin-triplet Cooper pairs with equally aligned spins, which are promoted by proximity of a conventional superconductor to a ferromagnetic material with inhomogeneous macroscopic magnetization3. Using low-energy muon spin-rotation experiments we find an unanticipated effect, in contradiction with the existing theoretical models of superconductivity and ferromagnetism: the appearance of a magnetization in a thin layer of a non-magnetic metal (gold), separated from a ferromagnetic double layer by a 50-nm-thick superconducting layer of Nb. The effect can be controlled either by temperature or by using a magnetic field to control the state of the remote ferromagnetic elements, and may act as a basic building block for a new generation of quantum interference devices based on the spin of a Cooper pair.
Citation
Flokstra , M G , Satchell , N , Kim , J , Burnell , G , Curran , P J , Bending , S J , Cooper , J F K , Kinane , C J , Langridge , S , Isidori , A , Pugach , N , Eschrig , M , Luetkens , H , Suter , A , Prokscha , T & Lee , S L 2016 , ' Remotely induced magnetism in a normal metal using a superconducting spin-valve ' , Nature Physics , vol. 12 , no. 1 , pp. 57–61 . https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3486
Publication
Nature Physics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1745-2473Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright 2015 the Authors. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nphys3486 Copyright 2015 the Authors. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nphys3486
Description
The authors acknowledge the support of the EPSRC through Grants No. EP/J01060X, No. EP/J010626/1, No. EP/J010650/1, No. EP/J010634/1, and No. EP/J010618/1, support of a studentship supported by JEOL Europe and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, and the support of the RFBR via awards No. 13-02-01452-a, and No. 14-02-90018 Bel-a.Collections
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