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Updated: Feb 8, 2026
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Fabrication and Characterization of Superconducting Resonators
Published on: May 21, 2016
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Increasing the performance of a superconducting spin valve using a Heusler alloy
Andrey A Kamashev1,2, Aidar A Validov1, Joachim Schumann2
1Zavoisky Physical-Technical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 420029 Kazan, Russia.
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
|July 7, 2018
Summary
We observed a significant superconducting spin-valve effect in novel heterostructures. This effect, controlling superconducting current flow by magnetic orientation, is enhanced using a Heusler alloy, paving the way for advanced spintronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Spintronics
Background:
- Superconducting spin-valve effects are crucial for spintronic applications.
- Previous studies utilized strong ferromagnets like Fe, limiting effect magnitude.
- Thin-layer heterostructures offer tunable electronic properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate superconducting properties of CoO/Permalloy/Cu/Heusler alloy/Cu/Pb heterostructures.
- To explore the superconducting spin-valve effect using a Heusler alloy (Co2Cr1-x Fex Al) with low spin polarization.
- To enhance the superconducting spin-valve effect compared to previous Fe-based multilayers.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of spin-valve thin-layer heterostructures.
- Characterization of superconducting properties.
- Experimental manipulation of magnetization orientations in ferromagnetic layers (Permalloy and Heusler alloy).
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a significant superconducting spin-valve effect, enabling on/off switching of superconducting current.
- Observed a doubled effect magnitude compared to Fe-based multilayers.
- Attributed the enhancement to a smaller exchange field from the Heusler alloy.
Conclusions:
- Heusler alloy-based heterostructures significantly enhance the superconducting spin-valve effect.
- The findings suggest potential for near-ideal switching in 1 nm thick Heusler films.
- This research advances the development of highly efficient spintronic devices.
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