No Arabic abstract
Andreev bound states are an expression of quantum coherence between particles and holes in hybrid structures composed of superconducting and non-superconducting metallic parts. Their spectrum carries important information on the nature of the pairing, and determines the current in Josephson devices. Here I give a short review on Andreev bound states in systems involving superconductors and ferromagnets with strong spin-polarization. I show how the processes of spin-dependent scattering phase shifts and of triplet rotation influence Andreev point contact spectra, and provide a general framework for non-local Andreev phenomena in such structures in terms of coherence functions. Finally, I demonstrate how the concept of coherence functions cross-links wave-function and Green-function based theories, by showing that coherence functions fulfilling the equations of motion for quasiclassical Green functions can be used to derive a set of generalised Andreev equations.
We have investigated the critical temperature behavior in periodic superconductor/ ferromagnet (S/F) multilayers as a function of the ferromagnetic layer thickness $d_f$ and the interface transparency. The critical temperature $T_c(d_f)$ exhibits a damped oscillatory behavior in these systems due to an exchange field in the ferromagnetic material. In this work we have performed $T_c$ calculations using the self-consistent multimode approach, which is considered to be exact solving method. Using this approach we have derived the conditions of 0 or $pi$ state realization in periodic S/F multilayers. Moreover, we have presented the comparison between the single-mode and multimode approaches and established the limits of applicability of the single-mode approximation, frequently used by experimentalists.
Josephson junctions made with conventional s-wave superconductors and containing multiple layers of ferromagnetic materials can carry spin-triplet supercurrent in the presence of certain types of magnetic inhomogeneity. In junctions containing three ferromagnetic layers, the triplet supercurrent is predicted to be maximal when the magnetizations of adjacent layers are orthogonal, and zero when the magnetizations of any two adjacent layers are parallel. Here we demonstrate on-off control of the spin-triplet supercurrent in such junctions, achieved by rotating the magnetization direction of one of the three layers by 90$^{circ}$. We obtain on-off ratios of 5, 7, and 19 for the supercurrent in the three samples studied so far. These observations directly confirm one of the most salient predictions of the theory, and pave the way for applications of spin-triplet Josephson junctions in the nascent area of superconducting spintronics.
Ferromagnetic materials with exchange fields E_ex smaller or of the order of the superconducting gap Delta are important for applications of corresponding (s-wave) superconductor/ ferromagnet/ superconductor (SFS) junctions. Presently such materials are not known but there are several proposals how to create them. Small exchange fields are in principle difficult to detect. Based on our results we propose reliable detection methods of such small E_ex. For exchange fields smaller than the superconducting gap the subgap differential conductance of the normal metal - ferromagnet - insulator - superconductor (NFIS) junction shows a peak at the voltage bias equal to the exchange field of the ferromagnetic layer, eV=E_ex. Thus measuring the subgap conductance one can reliably determine small E_ex < Delta. In the opposite case E_ex > Delta one can determine the exchange field in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiment. The density of states of the FS bilayer measured at the outer border of the ferromagnet shows a peak at the energy equal to the exchange field, E=E_ex. This peak can be only visible for small enough exchange fields of the order of few Delta.
Ferromagnetic proximity effect is studied in InAs nanowire (NW) based quantum dots (QD) strongly coupled to a ferromagnetic (F) and a superconducting (S) lead. The influence of the F lead is detected through the splitting of the spin-1/2 Kondo resonance. We show that the F lead induces a local exchange field on the QD, which has varying amplitude and a sign depending on the charge states. The interplay of the F and S correlations generates an exchange field related supgap feature. This novel mini-gap allows now the visualization of the exchange field also in even charge states
A mechanism of a superconducting coupling of two magnets in a system of coupled superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor Josephson junctions (JJs) with spin-orbit interaction is proposed. The predicted indirect magnetic interaction is long-range, that is its range is not restricted by the proximity length scales in the superconductor. It is based on the magnetoelectric coupling between the condensate phase difference and the magnetization in the interlayer of the S/F/S JJ, which is realized in the form of the anomalous ground state phase shift. The interaction is mediated by the superconducting phase of the middle superconductor, which is a macroscopic quantity and interacts with the both magnetizations in the presence of the anomalous phase shift. The mutual orientation of the ferromagnetic interlayers can be manipulated by the externally controlled superconducting phase between the leads.