Anomalous Supercurrent Modulation in Josephson Junctions With Ni-Based Barriers

Published

May 15, 2018

Author(s)

Burm Baek, Michael L. Schneider, Matthew R. Pufall, William H. Rippard

Abstract

We investigate the supercurrent transport characteristics of Ni-barrier Josephson junctions with various barrier multilayer structures. Our device fabrication and magneto-electrical measurement methods provide high enough statistics and rigor necessary for the detailed characterization of magnetic Josephson junctions. As a result, we obtain the oscillatory critical current as a function of Ni thickness that matches the clean-limit transport theory except for certain anomalous features. Salient details include the finite oscillation phase shift due to a nonmagnetic spacer, the near-zero effective magnetic dead layer, and the distorted current-phase relationship near the 0-π transition. These allude to intricacies in the microscopic transport that are unique to certain magnetic Josephson junctions. We discuss a route toward a comprehensive understanding of realistic magnetic Josephson junctions based on the underlying effect of exchange field on the superconducting spin modulation.

Citation

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Volume

28

Issue

7

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2018.2836961

Local Download

Keywords

supercurrent transport characteristics, Ni-barrier Josephson junctions, multilayer structures, magneto-electrical measurement methods, oscillatory critical current, Ni thickness, clean-limit transport theory, finite oscillation phase shift, nonmagnetic spacer, magnetic dead layer, microscopic transport, superconducting spin modulation

Citation

Baek, B. , Schneider, M. , Pufall, M. and Rippard, W. (2018), Anomalous Supercurrent Modulation in Josephson Junctions With Ni-Based Barriers, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2018.2836961 (Accessed October 24, 2025)