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Register a new userPeriodic Co/Nb pseudo spin-valve for cryogenic memory
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We present a new study of magnetic structures with controllable effective exchange energy for Josephson switches and memory. As a basis for a weak link we propose to use a periodic structure comprised of ferromagnetic (F) layers spaced by thin superconductors (s). Our calculations based on Usadel equations show that switching from parallel (P) to antiparallel (AP) alignment of neighboring F layers can lead to a significant enhancement of the critical current through the junction. To control magnetic alignment we propose to use periodic system where unit cell is a pseudo spin-valve $F_1$/s/$F_2$/s with $F_1$ and $F_2$ two magnetic layers having different coercive fields. In order to check feasibility of controllable switching between AP and P states through the emph{whole} periodic structure we prepared a superlattice [Co(1.5nm)/Nb(8nm)/Co(2.5nm)/Nb(8nm)]$_6$ between two superconducting layers of Nb(25nm). Neutron scattering showed that parallel and antiparallel alignment can be organized by using of magnetic fields of only several tens of Oersted.
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Josephson junctions containing two ferromagnetic layers are being considered for use in cryogenic memory. Our group recently demonstrated that the ground-state phase difference across such a junction with carefully chosen layer thicknesses could be controllably toggled between zero and $pi$ by switching the relative magnetization directions of the two layers between the antiparallel and parallel configurations. However, several technological issues must be addressed before those junctions can be used in a large-scale memory. Many of these issues can be more easily studied in single junctions, rather than in the Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) used for the phase-sensitive measurements. In this work, we report a comprehensive study of spin-valve junctions containing a Ni layer with a fixed thickness of 2.0 nm, and a NiFe layer of thickness varying between 1.1 and 1.8 nm in steps of 0.1 nm. We extract the field shift of the Fraunhofer patterns and the critical currents of the junctions in the parallel and antiparallel magnetic states, as well as the switching fields of both magnetic layers. We also report a partial study of similar junctions containing a slightly thinner Ni layer of 1.6 nm and the same range of NiFe thicknesses. These results represent the first step toward mapping out a ``phase diagram for phase-controllable spin-valve Josephson junctions as a function of the two magnetic layer thicknesses.
We demonstrate a Josephson junction with a weak link containing two ferromagnets, with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and independent switching fields in which the critical current can be set by the mutual orientation of the two layers. Such pseudospin-valve Josephson junctions are a candidate cryogenic memory in an all superconducting computational scheme. Here, we use Pt/Co/Pt/CoB/Pt as the weak link of the junction with $d_text{Co} = 0.6$ nm, $d_text{CoB} = 0.3$ nm, and $d_text{Pt} = 5$ nm and obtain a $60%$ change in the critical current for the two magnetization configurations of the pseudospin-valve. Ferromagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have advantages over magnetization in-plane systems which have been exclusively considered to this point, as in principle the magnetization and magnetic switching of layers in the junction should not affect the in-plane magnetic flux.
We have investigated CuNi/Nb/CuNi trilayers, as have been recently used as the core structure of a spin-valve like device [J. Y. Gu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 267001 (2002)] to study the effect of magnetic configurations of the CuNi layers on the critical temperature, Tc, of the superconducting Nb. After reproducing a Tc shift of a few mK, we have gone on to explore the performance limits of the structure. The results showed the Tc shift we found to be quite close to the basic limits of this particular materials system. The ratio between the thickness and the coherence length of the superconductor and the interfacial transparency were the main features limiting the Tc shift.
Due to the ever increasing power and cooling requirements of large-scale computing and data facilities, there is a worldwide search for low-power alternatives to CMOS. One approach under consideration is superconducting computing based on single-flux-quantum logic. Unfortunately, there is not yet a low-power, high-density superconducting memory technology that is fully compatible with superconducting logic. We are working toward developing cryogenic memory based on Josephson junctions that contain two or more ferromagnetic (F) layers. Such junctions have been demonstrated to be programmable by changing the relative direction of the F layer magnetizations. There are at least two different types of such junctions -- those that carry the innate spin-singlet supercurrent associated with the conventional superconducting electrodes, and those that convert spin-singlet to spin-triplet supercurrent in the middle of the device. In this paper we compare the performance and requirements of the two kinds of junctions. Whereas the spin-singlet junctions need only two ferromagnetic layers to function, the spin-triplet junctions require at least three. In the devices demonstrated to date, the spin-singlet junctions have considerably larger critical current densities than the spin-triplet devices. On the other hand, the spin-triplet devices have less stringent constraints on the thicknesses of the F layers, which might be beneficial in large-scale manufacturing.
A noticeable magnetoresistive effect has been observed on ferromagnet/superconductor/ferromagnet (FSF) microbridges based on diluted ferromagnetic PdFe alloy containing as small as 1% magnetic atoms. Microstructuring of the FSF trilayers does not destroy the effect: the most pronounced curves were obtained on the smallest bridges of 6-8 um wide and 10-15 um long. Below the superconducting transition we are able to control the critical current of microbridges by switching between P and AP orientations of magnetizations of PdFe layers. The operation of FSF-bridge as a magnetic switch is demonstrated in several regimes providing significant voltage discrimination between digital states or remarkably low bit error rate.
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