Search

We review the use of hybrid thin films composed of superconductors and ferromagnets for creating non-reciprocal electronic components and self-biased detectors of electromagnetic radiation. We begin by introducing the theory behind these effects, as well as discussing various potential materials that can be used in the fabrication of these components. We then proceed with a detailed discussion on the fabrication and characterization of Al/EuS/Cu and EuS/Al/Co-based detectors, along with their noise analysis. Additionally, we suggest some approaches for multiplexing such self-biased detectors.

We extend the Mattis-Bardeen theory for the dynamical response of superconductors to include different types of Hall responses. This is possible thanks to a recent modification of the quasiclassical Usadel equation, which allows for analyzing Hall effects in disordered superconductors and including the precise frequency dependence of such effects. Our results form a basis for analyzing dynamical experiments especially on novel thin-film superconductors, where ordinary Hall and spin Hall effects can both show up.

Diodes are characterized by mono-directional flow of current, yet this simplicity belies their critical importance in electronics and optics. Here, Strambini et al demonstrate a superconducting quasi-particle equivalent, achieved by the use of a thin ferromagnetic insulator. Diodes are key elements for electronics, optics, and detection. Their evolution towards low dissipation electronics has seen the hybridization with superconductors and the realization of supercurrent diodes with zero resistance in only one direction. Here, we present the quasi-particle counterpart, a superconducting tunnel diode with zero conductance in only one direction. The direction-selective propagation of the charge has been obtained through the broken electron-hole symmetry induced by the spin selection of the ferromagnetic tunnel barrier: a EuS thin film separating a superconducting Al and a normal metal Cu layer. The Cu/EuS/Al tunnel junction achieves a large rectification (up to similar to 40%) already for a small voltage bias (similar to 200 mu V) thanks to the small energy scale of the system: the Al superconducting gap. With the help of an analytical theoretical model we can link the maximum rectification to the spin polarization (P) of the barrier and describe the quasi-ideal Shockley-diode behavior of the junction. This cryogenic spintronic rectifier is promising for the application in highly-sensitive radiation detection for which two different configurations are evaluated. In addition, the superconducting diode may pave the way for future low-dissipation and fast superconducting electronics.

Diodes are characterized by mono-directional flow of current, yet this simplicity belies their critical importance in electronics and optics. Here, Strambini et al demonstrate a superconducting quasi-particle equivalent, achieved by the use of a thin ferromagnetic insulator. Diodes are key elements for electronics, optics, and detection. Their evolution towards low dissipation electronics has seen the hybridization with superconductors and the realization of supercurrent diodes with zero resistance in only one direction. Here, we present the quasi-particle counterpart, a superconducting tunnel diode with zero conductance in only one direction. The direction-selective propagation of the charge has been obtained through the broken electron-hole symmetry induced by the spin selection of the ferromagnetic tunnel barrier: a EuS thin film separating a superconducting Al and a normal metal Cu layer. The Cu/EuS/Al tunnel junction achieves a large rectification (up to similar to 40%) already for a small voltage bias (similar to 200 mu V) thanks to the small energy scale of the system: the Al superconducting gap. With the help of an analytical theoretical model we can link the maximum rectification to the spin polarization (P) of the barrier and describe the quasi-ideal Shockley-diode behavior of the junction. This cryogenic spintronic rectifier is promising for the application in highly-sensitive radiation detection for which two different configurations are evaluated. In addition, the superconducting diode may pave the way for future low-dissipation and fast superconducting electronics.

Supplemental material includes derivations for eigen-states of a p wave superconductor in disk geometry, the calculation of optical conductance of the CMES in a p wave superconductor and derivations for current operator in the tight-binding model and estimation of microwave reflection coefficient.

Diodes are characterized by mono-directional flow of current, yet this simplicity belies their critical importance in electronics and optics. Here, Strambini et al demonstrate a superconducting quasi-particle equivalent, achieved by the use of a thin ferromagnetic insulator. Diodes are key elements for electronics, optics, and detection. Their evolution towards low dissipation electronics has seen the hybridization with superconductors and the realization of supercurrent diodes with zero resistance in only one direction. Here, we present the quasi-particle counterpart, a superconducting tunnel diode with zero conductance in only one direction. The direction-selective propagation of the charge has been obtained through the broken electron-hole symmetry induced by the spin selection of the ferromagnetic tunnel barrier: a EuS thin film separating a superconducting Al and a normal metal Cu layer. The Cu/EuS/Al tunnel junction achieves a large rectification (up to similar to 40%) already for a small voltage bias (similar to 200 mu V) thanks to the small energy scale of the system: the Al superconducting gap. With the help of an analytical theoretical model we can link the maximum rectification to the spin polarization (P) of the barrier and describe the quasi-ideal Shockley-diode behavior of the junction. This cryogenic spintronic rectifier is promising for the application in highly-sensitive radiation detection for which two different configurations are evaluated. In addition, the superconducting diode may pave the way for future low-dissipation and fast superconducting electronics.

We propose to directly probe the chirality of Majorana edge states in 2D topological superconductors using polarization selective photon absorption. When shining circularly polarized light on a 2D topological superconductor in disk geometry, the photons can excite quasiparticles only when the polarization of the light matches the chirality of the Majorana edge states required by the angular momentum conservation. Hence, one can obtain the chirality of the Majorana edge states by measuring the photon absorption rate. We show that the polarization selective photon absorption can also serve as smoking gun evidence of the chiral Majorana edge mode.

A conventional superconductor sandwiched between two ferromagnets can maintain coherent equilibrium spin current. This spin supercurrent results from the rotation of odd-frequency spin correlations induced in the superconductor by the magnetic proximity effect. In the absence of intrinsic magnetization, the superconductor cannot maintain multiple rotations of the triplet component but instead provides a Josephson type weak link for the spin supercurrent. We determine the analog of the current-phase relation in various circumstances and show how it can be accessed in experiments on dynamic magnetization. In particular, concentrating on the magnetic hysteresis and the ferromagnetic resonance response, we show how the spin supercurrent affects the nonequilibrium dynamics of magnetization which depends on a competition between spin supercurrent mediated static exchange contribution and a dynamic spin pumping contribution. Depending on the outcome of this competition, a mode crossing in the system can either be an avoided crossing or mode locking.

Spin-split superconductors exhibit an electron-hole asymmetric spin-resolved density of states, but the symmetry is restored upon averaging over spin. On the other hand, asymmetry appears again in tunneling junctions of spin-split superconductors with a spin-polarized barrier. As demonstrated recently in both theory and experiment, this fact leads to a particularly strong thermoelectric effect in superconductor-ferromagnet structures. In this work we show another important effect stemming from the electron-hole asymmetry: current rectification. We calculate the charge current in spin-polarized tunnel junctions of a normal metal and a spin-split superconductor with ac and dc voltage bias. In the dc case, the I-V curve is not fully antisymmetric and has a voltage-symmetric component due to spin polarization. This translates to the existence of a rectified current in the ac case, which is proportional to the spin polarization of the junction and strongly depends on the frequency of the applied bias. We discuss possible applications of the rectification effect, including a diode for superconducting electronics and radiation detectors. The analysis of the rectified charge current is supplemented by the discussion of heat current and relevant noise correlators, where electron-hole asymmetry also plays an important role, and which are useful for applications in detectors.

We show that the Higgs mode of superconductors can couple with spin dynamics in the presence of a static spin-splitting field and Rashba spin-orbit coupling. The Higgs-spin coupling dramatically modifies the spin susceptibility near the superconducting critical temperature and consequently enhances the spin pumping effect in a ferromagnetic insulator/superconductor bilayer system. We show that this effect can be detected by measuring the magnon transmission rate and the magnon-induced voltage generated by the inverse spin Hall effect.

An electromagnetic sensor for use in a variety of applications requiring extremely high sensitivity, such as measuring power and characteristics of incident electromagnetic radiation includes a superconducting layer that carries an exchange field for providing a spin splitting effect of charge carriers in the superconducting layer, a metal electrode, and an insulating layer arranged between the superconducting layer and metal electrode to form a spin filter junction therebetween. The electromagnetic sensor provides an antenna including a wave collecting element, in contact with the superconducting layer to convey thereinto external electromagnetic waves that are generated by an external source. An electric measurement device provides an output signal responsive to the amplitude and frequency of the external electromagnetic waves, and contacts the metal electrode to measure an electric current or voltage caused by the spin splitted charge carrier flow from the superconducting layer through the spin filter junction into the metal electrode

Spin-split superconductors exhibit an electron-hole asymmetric spin-resolved density of states, but the symmetry is restored upon averaging over spin. On the other hand, asymmetry appears again in tunneling junctions of spin-split superconductors with a spin-polarized barrier. As demonstrated recently in both theory and experiment, this fact leads to a particularly strong thermoelectric effect in such superconducting structures. In this work we show another important effect stemming from the electron-hole asymmetry - current rectification. We calculate the charge current in spin-polarized tunnel junctions of normal metal and a spin-split superconductor with AC and DC voltage bias. In the DC case, the I-V curve is not fully antisymmetric and has a voltage-symmetric component due to spin polarization. This translates to the existence of a rectified current in the AC case, which is proportional to the spin polarization of the junction and strongly depends on the frequency of the applied bias. We discuss possible applications of the rectification effect, including a diode for superconducting electronics and radiation detectors. The analysis of the rectified charge current is supplemented by the discussion of heat current and relevant noise correlators, where electron-hole asymmetry also plays an important role, and which are useful for applications in detectors.

[EN] An electromagnetic wave sensor (1) of extremely high sensitivity comprises a spin filter junction formed by an insulating layer (30) arranged between a metal electrode (20) and a superconducting layer (10) carrying an exchange field for providing a spin splitting effect of charge carriers (63, 64), an antenna comprising a wave collecting element (60) in contact with said superconducting layer to convey external electromagnetic waves (61) generated by an external source, and an electric measurement device (70) in contact with said metal electrode to measure an electric current or voltage caused by said spin split charge carrier flow, arranged to provide an output signal (71) responsive to the amplitude and frequency of said external electromagnetic waves, [FR] Capteur d'ondes électromagnétiques (1) de sensibilité extrêmement élevée, comprenant une jonction à filtration de spin formée par une couche isolante (30) intercalée entre une électrode métallique (20) et une couche supraconductrice (10) portant un champ d'échange permettant de fournir un effet de division de spin de porteurs de charge (63, 64), une antenne comportant un élément collecteur d'onde (60) disposé en contact avec ladite couche supraconductrice afin d'assurer le transport des ondes électromagnétiques externes (61) générées par une source externe, et un dispositif de mesure électrique (70) disposé en contact avec ladite électrode métallique afin d'assurer la mesure d'un courant ou d'une tension électrique dû-e au flux porteur de charge spin, afin de fournir un signal de sortie (71) en réaction à l'amplitude et la fréquence de ces ondes électromagnétiques externes

A ferromagnetic insulator (FI) attached to a conventional superconductor (S) changes drastically the properties of the latter. Specifically, the exchange field at the FI/S interface leads to a splitting of the superconducting density of states. If S is a superconducting film, thinner than the superconducting coherence length, the modification of the density of states occurs over the whole sample. The coexistence of the exchange splitting and superconducting correlations in S/FI structures leads to striking transport phenomena that are of interest for applications in thermoelectricity, superconducting spintronics and radiation sensors. Here we review the most recent progress in understanding the transport properties of FI/S structures by presenting a complete theoretical framework based on the quasiclassical kinetic equations. We discuss the coupling between the electronic degrees of freedom, charge, spin and energy, under non-equilibrium conditions and its manifestation in thermoelectricity and spin-dependent transport.

We investigate transport properties of junctions between two spin-split superconductors linked by a spin-polarized tunneling barrier. The spin-splitting fields in the superconductors (S) are induced by adjacent ferromagnetic insulating (FI) layers with arbitrary magnetization. The aim of this study is twofold. On the one hand, we present a theoretical framework based on the quasiclassical Green's functions to calculate the Josephson and quasiparticle current through the junctions in terms of the different parameters characterizing it. Our theory predicts qualitative new results for the tunneling differential conductance, dI/dV, when the spin-splitting fields of the two superconductors are noncollinear. We also discuss how junctions based on FI/S can be used to realize anomalous Josephson junctions with a constant geometric phase shift in the current-phase relation. As a result, they may exhibit spontaneous triplet supercurrents in the absence of a phase difference between the S electrodes. On the other hand, we show results of planar tunneling spectroscopy of a EuS/Al/AlOx/EuS/Al junction and use our theoretical model to reproduce the obtained dI/dV curves. Comparison between theory and experiment reveals information about the intrinsic parameters of the junction, such as the size of the superconducting order parameter, spin-splitting fields and spin relaxation, and also about properties of the two EuS films, such as their morphology, domain structure, and magnetic anisotropy.

We suggest an ultrasensitive detector of electromagnetic fields exploiting the giant thermoelectric effect recently found in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrid structures. Compared with other types of superconducting detectors where the detected signal is based on variations of the detector impedance, the thermoelectric detector has the advantage of requiring no external driving fields. This is especially relevant in multipixel detectors, where the number of bias lines and the heating induced by them are an issue. We propose different material combinations to implement the detector and provide a detailed analysis of its sensitivity and speed. In particular, we perform a proper noise analysis that includes the cross correlation between heat and charge current noise and thereby describes also thermoelectric detectors with a large thermoelectric figure of merit.

Electron tunneling between superconductors and normal metals has been used for an efficient refrigeration of electrons in the latter. Such cooling is a nonlinear effect and usually requires a large voltage. Here we study the electron cooling in heterostructures based on superconductors with a spin-splitting field coupled to normal metals via spin-filtering barriers. The cooling power shows a linear term in the applied voltage. This improves the coefficient of performance of electron refrigeration in the normal metal by shifting its optimum cooling to lower voltage, and also allows for cooling the spin-split superconductor by reverting the sign of the voltage. We also show how tunnel coupling spin-split superconductors with regular ones allows for a highly efficient refrigeration of the latter.

This Colloquium discusses the recent progress in understanding the properties of spin-split superconductors under nonequilibrium conditions. Recent experiments and theories demonstrate a rich variety of transport phenomena occurring in devices based on such materials that suggest direct applications in thermoelectricity, low-dissipative spintronics, radiation detection, and sensing. This text discusses different experimental situations and presents a theoretical framework based on quantum kinetic equations. This framework provides an accurate description of the nonequilibrium distribution of charge, spin, and energy, which are the relevant nonequilibrium modes, in different hybrid structures. This Colloquium also reviews experiments on spin-split superconductors and shows how transport measurements reveal the properties of the nonequilibrium modes and their mutual coupling. In particular, the emphasis of the text is on spin injection and diffusion and very large thermoelectric effects in spin-split superconductors.

Spin-dependent fields acting on superconductivity lead to intriguing phenomena. Under equilibrium conditions these phenomena are attributed to the singlet-triplet conversion of the superconducting condensate. In this talk I first discuss the effect of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and exchange fields on the properties of hybrid superconducting structures. I distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic SOC and predict non-dissipative Spin-Hall, Anomalous-Hall, Edelstein and Spin-Galvanic effects in analogy to normal systems with different types of SOC. These predictions open new opportunities for the development of low-dissipation magneto-electronics. In the second part of the talk, I will focus on charge and heat currents in superconducting structures with ferromagnetic insulators (FI). The spin-splitting of the BCS density of the states induced in the superconductor leads to striking phenomena which I will illustrate by briefly discussing few examples: (i) a huge thermoelectric effect in a N-FI-S structure, (ii) the occurrence of a thermophase in S-FI-S structures, (iii) the possibility of using FI-S in high sensitive detectors and thermometers[6], and (iv) a heat valve based on a ferromagnetic Josephson junction.

In superconductors spin split by an exchange field, thermal effects are coupled to spin transport. We show how an oscillating electromagnetic field in such systems creates spin imbalance, that can be detected with a spin-polarized probe. The sign and magnitude of the probe signal result from a competition between processes converting field-induced spin energy imbalance to spin imbalance, dominant at low frequencies, and microwave-driven pair breaking at high frequencies. In the presence of spin-flip scattering, we show that ac excitation also leads to multistabilities in the superconducting state.

We describe far-from-equilibrium nonlocal transport in a diffusive superconducting wire with a Zeeman splitting, taking into account different spin relaxation mechanisms. We demonstrate that due to the Zeeman splitting, an injection of current in a superconducting wire creates spin accumulation that can only relax via thermalization. This effect leads to a long-range spin accumulation detectable in the nonlocal signal. Our model gives a qualitative explanation and provides accurate fits of recent experimental results in terms of realistic parameters.

We present a theoretical study of spin transport in a superconducting mesoscopic spin valve under the action of a magnetic field misaligned with respect to the injected spin. We demonstrate that superconductivity can either strongly enhance or suppress the coherent spin rotation, depending on the type of spin relaxation mechanism being dominated either by spin-orbit coupling or spin-flip scattering at impurities. We also predict a subgap contribution to the nonlocal conductance in multiterminal superconducting hybrid structures which completely eliminates the effect of spin rotation at sufficiently low temperatures.

We show that a huge thermoelectric effect can be observed by contacting a superconductor whose density of states is spin split by a Zeeman field with a ferromagnet with a nonzero polarization. The resulting thermopower exceeds kB/e by a large factor, and the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT can far exceed unity, leading to heat engine efficiencies close to the Carnot limit. We also show that spin-polarized currents can be generated in the superconductor by applying a temperature bias. © 2014 American Physical Society.

We present an extensive theoretical analysis of the supercurrent of a superconducting point contact of arbitrary transparency in the presence of a microwave field. Our paper is mainly based on two different approaches: a two-level model that describes the dynamics of the Andreev bound states in these systems and a fully microscopic method based on the Keldysh-Green function technique. This combination provides both a deep insight into the physics of irradiated Josephson junctions and quantitative predictions for arbitrary range of parameters. The main predictions of our analysis are: (i) for weak fields and low temperatures, the microwaves can induce transitions between the Andreev states, leading to a large suppression of the supercurrent at certain values of the phase; (ii) at strong fields, the current-phase relation is strongly distorted and the corresponding critical current does not follow a simple Bessel-function-like behavior; and (iii) at finite temperatures, the microwave field can enhance the critical current by means of transitions connecting the continuum of states outside the gap region and the Andreev states inside the gap. Our paper is of relevance for a large variety of superconducting weak links as well as for the proposals of using the Andreev bound states of a point contact for quantum computing applications. © 2011 American Physical Society.