Interface transparency of superconductor/ferromagnetic multilayers

Journal Article · Fri Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.56.2779· OSTI ID:528084

Aarts, J; Geers, J M ^[1]; Brueck, E ^[2]; Golubov, A A ^[3]; Coehoorn, R ^[4]

---

1. Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden (the Netherlands)
2. van der Waals-Zeeman Laboratory, University of Amsterdam, Plantage Muidergracht 4, NL-1018 TV Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
3. Institute of Solid State Physics, Chernogolovka, Moscow District, 142432 (Russia)
4. Philips Research Laboratories, Prof. Holstlaan 4, 5656 AA Eindhoven (the Netherlands)

We have investigated the behavior of the superconducting transition temperature T{sub c} in superconducting/ferromagnetic (S/F) multilayers, as a function of the different layer thicknesses and for varying magnetic moment {mu}{sub F} of the F-layer atoms. The system studied consists of superconducting V and ferromagnetic V{sub 1{minus}x}Fe{sub x} alloys with x such that {mu}{sub F} on the Fe atom is varied between 2 and 0.25{mu}{sub B}. We determined the superconducting coherence length in the F layer {xi}{sub F}, which is found to be inversely proportional to {mu}{sub F}. We also determined the critical thickness of the S layer, above which superconductivity appears. This thickness is found to be strongly nonmonotonic as function of the Fe concentration in the alloys. By analyzing the data in terms of the proximity-effect theory, we show that with increasing {mu}{sub F}, the increasing pair breaking in the F layer by the exchange field is counteracted by a decreasing transparency of the S/F interface for Cooper pairs. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

• OSTI ID: 528084
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter, Journal Name: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 56; ISSN 0163-1829; ISSN PRBMDO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
COHERENCE LENGTH
CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
FERROMAGNETIC MATERIALS
INTERFACES
IRON
IRON ALLOYS
LAYERS
PROXIMITY EFFECT
SUPERCONDUCTING FILMS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
THICKNESS
THIN FILMS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
VANADIUM
VANADIUM ALLOYS