Interferometric Evidence of Nonvolatile Anomalous Phase Shifts in Exchange-Spin-Split Josephson Supercurrent Diodes.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41570187.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acsnano.5c17979 and PMC identifier 12895565.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The recent realization of zero-field, polarity-reversible supercurrent rectification in proximity-magnetized Rashba-type Pt Josephson junctions (JJs) enables the development of superconducting logic circuits and cryogenic memory applications. Here, we demonstrate a <i>nonvolatile</i> anomalous phase shift φ<sub>0</sub> directly probed via superconducting quantum interferometry, providing phase-sensitive evidence of spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking in these Rashba-type systems. By replacing the Pt barrier with 5d or 4d element layers exhibiting different (para)magnetic susceptibilities, spin-orbit coupling properties, and electronic band structures, we elucidate the role of proximity effects in governing zero-field diode behavior. Ta (W) JJs exhibit zero-field diode efficiencies of ∼17% (∼5%) at 2 K, which are slightly (significantly) lower than those of Pt JJs. Notably, the diode polarity in Ta and W JJs is reversed relative to that in Pt JJs. Combined with the large zero-field diode efficiency (∼15% at 2 K) observed in highly magnetic-susceptible Pd JJs, these results show that nonvolatile φ<sub>0</sub> and, consequently, zero-field diode performance can be tuned through proximity engineering of interfacial magnetic ordering and Rashba spin-orbit interaction.