Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 0801.1799

Quasiparticle Trapping In Three Terminal Ferromagnetic Tunneling Devices

Abstract

Hybrid Superconductor/Ferromagnet structures have been investigated recently to address the interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity. They also open up new routes for the investigation of out of equilibrium superconductivity. Here, we show how it is possible for out of equilibrium excitations produced in a superconducting thin film (S) to be localized in a ferromagnetic trap (F). Specifically, a ferromagnetic nano-volume in good contact with S represents a potential well for the quasiparticles (QPs) at the gap edge. As the superconducting proximity effect is highly suppressed in F, QPs get efficiently trapped and they share their energy with the free electrons in the trap. The electronic temperature Te in the trap can be increased by up to 60% from the bath temperature at 320 mK as measured by tunneling spectroscopy using a second junction.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

R. Latempa, M. Aprili, I. Petkovic. 2009-01-13. Quasiparticle Trapping In Three Terminal Ferromagnetic Tunneling Devices. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3260237

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Anisotropic upper critical field in the van der Waals superconducting quasicrystal (Ta$_{0.7}$Nb$_{0.3}$)$_{1.6}$Te

We investigated the upper critical field of a large single grain of the Nb-substituted van der Waals layered quasicrystal (Ta$_{0.7}$Nb$_{0.3}$)$_{1.6}$Te. The sample exhibits a sharp superconducting transition at $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ = 1.35 K, the highest value reported to date among quasicrystal superconductors. The angular dependence of the critical field exhibits a pronounced criterion dependence: the field determined using the 10% $R_{\mathrm{N}}$ ($R_{\mathrm{N}}$: normal-state resistance) criterion is well described by the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau model, whereas those determined using the 65% and 90% $R_{\mathrm{N}}$ criteria exhibit Tinkham-like angular dependence characteristic of two-dimensional superconductivity. The high-field part of the resistive transition is well described by a surface-superconductivity model and exhibits a pronounced excitation-current dependence for magnetic fields close to the $ab$ plane, supporting the presence of surface superconductivity on the quasiperiodic $ab$-plane surfaces. The bulk $H_{\mathrm{c2}}$ is strongly anisotropic, with the in-plane $H_{\mathrm{c2}}$ exceeding the weak-coupling Pauli limit by a factor of approximately 2.5. For both field orientations, $H_{\mathrm{c2}}(T)$ deviates upward from the conventional dirty-limit Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg prediction at low temperatures. A phenomenologically modified Ginzburg-Landau-Abrikosov-Gorkov model incorporating a spatial distribution of the electronic diffusivity substantially improves the description of $H_{\mathrm{c2}}(T)$, suggesting that spatial variations in electronic transport properties may contribute to its anomalous temperature dependence.

cond-mat.supr-con

Field-induced incipient spin-density phase stabilized inside the nematic phase of FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$

Spin-density wave (SDW) order and superconductivity frequently compete and coexist in unconventional superconductors, where spin fluctuations often mediate superconducting pairing. In iron-chalcogenide superconductors, FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$, SDW order has only been detected under applied pressure, while both spin and nematic fluctuations are involved in determining their rich superconducting phase diagrams. Here, we report evidence for an incipient SDW phase, within the nematic state of FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$, revealed in magnetic fields up to 68~T. Once superconductivity is quenched, we observe sharp upturns in longitudinal resistivity accompanied by anomalies in tunnel diode oscillator frequency response and torque anisotropy, consistent with a field-induced electronic order. Dominant low-frequency quantum oscillations reveal a small reconstructed Fermi surface, consistent with a field-induced SDW order. Direct experimental comparisons with a pressure-tuned nematic, analogue, FeSe$_{0.96}$S$_{0.04}$, demonstrate that SDW phases are stabilized within the nematic phase of FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ via both chemical substitution and applied pressure. These findings reveal that by weakening nematicity, the SDW orders are stabilised, which promotes the dominant superconducting pairing mechanism in iron chalcogenides.

cond-mat.supr-con

Q-ball mechanism of electron transport and spin/phonon excitations properties of high-Tc superconductors

The Q-ball mechanism of high Tc superconductivity in cuprates, recently proposed by the author, is farther explored. Scattering on the Q-balls above Tc causes linear with temperature growth of electrical resistivity, splitting of the inplane phonon brunches into softened and hardened ones and hourglass dispersion of spin-wave excitations close to CDW and SDW wave vectors respectively. The diamagnetic response of Q-balls gas above Tc is in qualitative accord with experimental data in high Tc cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con