SFB Extra Seminar

Spectral properties of a conventional superconductor (S) attached to a ferromagnetic insulator (FI) change drastically. Specifically, the exchange field at the FI/S interface leads to splitting the superconducting density of states. The coexistence of the exchange splitting and superconducting correlations in S/FI structures leads to unique fundamental properties and novel transport phenomena of interest for thermoelectricity, superconducting electronics, and radiation sensors [1-4]. In this talk, I review the recent progress in understanding the spectral and non-equilibrium properties of FI/S structures and their possible applications, including the realization of superconducting spin-valves [5] and diodes [6]. 

[1] FSB, M. Silaev, P. Virtanen, T.T. Heikilä, Rev. Mod. Phys 90 (2018) 041001; Progress in Surface Science 94.3 (2019) 100540.

[2] E. Strambini et al., Phys.  Rev. Materials 1  (2017): 054402.

[3] A. Hijano et al, Phys.  Rev, Research 3  (2021): 023131.

[4] T.T. Heikkilä et al, Phys. Rev. Appl. 10  (2018): 034053.

[5] G. De Simoni  et al.,  Nano letters 18 (2018): 6369.

[6] E. Strambini et al, arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.01061(2021).