Journal article
Anisotropic Superconductivity and Vortex Dynamics in Magnetically Coupled F/S and F/S/F Hybrids
Journal of superconductivity and novel magnetism, v 24(1-2), pp 905-910
01 Jan 2011
Abstract
Magnetically coupled superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids offer advanced routes for nanoscale control of superconductivity. Magnetotransport characteristics and scanning tunneling microscopy images of vortex structures in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids reveal rich superconducting phase diagrams. Focusing on a particular combination of a ferromagnet with a well-ordered periodic magnetic domain structure with alternating out-of-plane component of magnetization, and a small coherence length superconductor, we find directed nucleation of superconductivity above the domain wall boundaries. We show that near the superconductor-normal state phase boundary the superconductivity is localized in narrow mesoscopic channels.
In order to explore the Abrikosov flux line ordering in F/S hybrids, we use a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and Ginzburg-Landau simulations. The magnetic stripe domain structure induces periodic local magnetic induction in the superconductor, creating a series of pinning-anti-pinning channels for externally added magnetic flux quanta. Such laterally confined Abrikosov vortices form quasi-1D arrays (chains). The transitions between multichain states occur through propagation of kinks at the intermediate fields. At high fields we show that the system becomes nonlinear due to a change in both the number of vortices and the confining potential.
In F/S/F hybrids we demonstrate the evolution of the anisotropic conductivity in the superconductor that is magnetically coupled with two adjacent ferromagnetic layers. Stripe magnetic domain structures in both F-layers are aligned under each other, resulting in a directional superconducting order parameter in the superconducting layer. The conductance anisotropy strongly depends on the period of the magnetic domains and the strength of the local magnetization. The anisotropic conductivity of up to three orders of magnitude can be achieved with a spatial critical temperature modulation of 5% of T (c).
Induced anisotropic properties in the F/S and F/S/F hybrids have a potential for future application in switching and nonvolatile memory elements operating at low temperatures.
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Details
- Title
- Anisotropic Superconductivity and Vortex Dynamics in Magnetically Coupled F/S and F/S/F Hybrids
- Creators
- G. Karapetrov - Argonne National LaboratoryA. Belkin - Argonne National LaboratoryM. Iavarone - Argonne National LaboratoryJ. Fedor - Argonne National LaboratoryV. Novosad - Argonne National LaboratoryM. V. Milosevic - University of AntwerpF. M. Peeters - University of Antwerp
- Publication Details
- Journal of superconductivity and novel magnetism, v 24(1-2), pp 905-910
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 6
- Grant note
- Operator of Argonne National Laboratory ESF-AQDJJ network Vlaanderen-USA UChicago Argonne, LLC Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-VI); FWO JSPS/ESF-NES; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Belgian Science Policy; Belgian Federal Science Policy Office DE-AC02-06CH11357 / U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE) 262 401 200 19 / Ministry of Education, Agency
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000289855700150
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-80052151888
- Other Identifier
- 991019295296004721
InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Physics, Applied
- Physics, Condensed Matter