arXiv subjects

C. Bell

Publications and source records attributed to C. Bell.

59 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Flux-flow induced giant magnetoresistance in all-amorphous superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids

We present magnetoresistance measurements on all-amorphous ferromagnet (F) / superconductor (S) heterostructures. The F/S/F trilayers show large magnetoresistance peaks in a small field range around the coercive field of the F layers, at temperatures within and below the superconducting transition. This is interpreted as flux flow of weakly pinned vortices induced by the stray field of Bloch magnetic domains in the F layers. Bilayers show much smaller effects, implying that the Bloch walls of the F-layers in the trilayer line up and focus the stray fields. The data are used to discuss the expected minimum F-layer thickness needed to nucleate vortices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Critical Current Oscillations in Strong Ferromagnetic Pi-Junctions

We report magnetic and electrical measurements of Nb Josephson junctions with strongly ferromagnetic barriers of Co, Ni and Ni80Fe20 (Py). All these materials show multiple oscillations of critical current with barrier thickness implying repeated 0-pi phase-transitions in the superconducting order parameter. We show in particular that the Co barrier devices can be accurately modelled using existing clean limit theories and so that, despite the high exchange energy (309 meV), the large IcRN value in the pi-state means Co barriers are ideally suited to the practical development of superconducting pi-shift devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Characteristics of strong ferromagnetic Josephson junctions with epitaxial barriers

We present the measurement of superconductor / ferromagnetic Josephson junctions, based on an epitaxial Nb bottom electrode and epitaxial Fe20Ni80 barrier. Uniform junctions have been fabricated with a barrier thicknesses in the range 2-12 nm. The maximum critical current density ~ 2.4 \pm 0.2 * 10^9 Am^-2 was found for a devices with a 3 nm thick barrier at 4.2 K, corresponding to an average characteristic voltage I_C R_N ~ 16 \muV. The I_C R_N showed a non-monotonic behavior with Fe20Ni80 thickness. The variation of the resistance of a unit area AR_N, of the junctions with barrier thickness gave a Nb/Py specific interface resistance of 6.0 \pm 0.5 fΩm^2 and Fe20Ni80 resistivity of 174 \pm 50 nΩm, consistent with other studies in polycrystalline samples.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Controllable Josephson current through a pseudo-spin-valve structure

A thin Co/Cu/Permalloy (Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$) pseudo-spin-valve structure is sandwiched between superconducting Nb contacts. When the current is passed perpendicular to the plane of the film a Josephson critical current ($I_C$) is observed at 4.2 K, in addition to a magnetoresistance (MR) of $\sim$ 0.5 % at high bias. The hysteresis loop of the spin-valve structure can be cycled to modulate the zero field $I_C$ of the junction in line with the MR measurements. These modulations of resistance and $I_C$ occur both smoothly and sharply with the applied field. For each type of behaviour there is a strong correlation between shape of the MR loops and the $I_C$ modulation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Proximity and Josephson effects in superconductor - antiferromagnetic Nb / γ-Fe50Mn50 heterostructures

We study the proximity effect in superconductor (S), antiferromagnetic (AF) bilayers, and report the fabrication and measurement of the first trilayer S/AF/S Josephson junctions. The disordered f.c.c. alloy γ-Fe50Mn50 was used as the AF, and the S is Nb. Micron and sub-micron scale junctions were measured, and the scaling of $J_C (d_AF)$ gives a coherence length in the AF of 2.4 nm, which correlates with the coherence length due to suppression of $T_C$ in the bilayer samples. The diffusion constant for FeMn was found to be 1.7 \times 10$^{-4}$ m$^2$ s$^-1$, and the density of states at the Fermi level was also obtained. An exchange biased FeMn/Co bilayer confirms the AF nature of the FeMn in this thickness regime.

cond-mat.supr-con↗