Local control of superconductivity in a NbSe<sub>2</sub>/CrSBr van der Waals heterostructure.

Jo, Junhyeon; Peisen, Yuan; Yang, Haozhe; Mañas-Valero, Samuel; Baldoví, José J; Lu, Yao; Coronado, Eugenio; Casanova, Fèlix et al. · Nat Commun · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Two-dimensional magnets and superconductors are emerging as tunable building-blocks for quantum computing and superconducting spintronic devices, and have been used to fabricate all two-dimensional versions of traditional devices, such as Josephson junctions. However, novel devices enabled by unique features of two-dimensional materials have not yet been demonstrated. Here, we present NbSe<sub>2</sub>/CrSBr van der Waals superconducting spin valves that exhibit infinite magnetoresistance and nonreciprocal charge transport. These responses arise from a unique metamagnetic transition in CrSBr, which controls the presence of localized stray fields suitably oriented to suppress the NbSe<sub>2</sub> superconductivity in nanoscale regions and to break time reversal symmetry. Moreover, by integrating different CrSBr crystals in a lateral heterostructure, we demonstrate a superconductive spin valve characterized by multiple stable resistance states. Our results show how the unique physical properties of layered materials enable the realization of high-performance quantum devices based on novel working principles.