Origin of spontaneous currents in a superconductor-ferromagnetic proximity system

JF Annett*, M Krawiec, BL Gyorffy

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We have previously shown that a ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructure may possess a spontaneous current circulation parallel to the interface. This current is caused by Andreev bound states in the thin ferromagnetic layer, and can be fully spin-polarized. Here we investigate the total energy of the system in cases where the current either does or does not flow. We show that the current is a true quantum ground state effect, and examine the effect of the current on the different contributions to the total energy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-10
Number of pages4
JournalPhysica C: Superconductivity and its Applications
Volume437-38
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2006
Event4th International Conferene on Vortex Matter in Nanostructured Superconductors (VORTEX IV) - Iraklion, Greece
Duration: 3 Sept 20059 Sept 2005

Keywords

  • proximity effect
  • superconductor-ferromagnet interface
  • NANOSTRUCTURES
  • HYBRIDS

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