A. V. Shadrin

Magnetic anisotropy in strained manganite films and bicrystal junctions

Transport and magnetic properties of LSMO manganite thin films and bicrystal junctions were investigated. Manganite films were epitaxially grown on STO, LAO, NGO and LSAT substrates and their magnetic anisotropy were determined by two techniques of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Compare with cubic substrates a small (about 0.3 persentage), the anisotropy of the orthorhombic NGO substrate leads to a uniaxial anisotropy of the magnetic properties of the films in the plane of the substrate. Samples with different tilt of crystallographic basal planes of manganite as well as bicrystal junctions with rotation of the crystallographic axes (RB - junction) and with tilting of basal planes (TB - junction) were investigated. It was found that on vicinal NGO substrates the value of magnetic anisotropy could be varied by changing the substrate inclination angle from 0 to 25 degrees. Measurement of magnetic anisotropy of manganite bicrystal junction demonstrated the presence of two ferromagnetically ordered spin subsystems for both types of bicrystal boundaries RB and TB. The magnitude of the magnetoresistance for TB - junctions increased with decreasing temperature and with the misorientation angle even misorientation of easy axes in the parts of junction does not change. Analysis of the voltage dependencies of bicrystal junction conductivity show that the low value of the magnetoresistance for the LSMO bicrystal junctions can be caused by two scattering mechanisms with the spin- flip of spin - polarized carriers due to the strong electron - electron interactions in a disordered layer at the bicrystal boundary at low temperatures and the spin-flip by anti ferromagnetic magnons at high temperatures.

Triplet superconducting correlations in oxide heterostructures with a composite ferromagnetic interlayer

The superconducting current induced by the penetration of the long-range triplet component of superconducting correlations into a composite ferromagnetic interlayer has been detected in mesa-heterostructures based on oxide cuprate superconductors YBa2Cu3O7 − δ and Au/Nb bilayer films with the composite oxide interlayer that is made of ferromagnetic films of manganite La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 and ruthenate SrRuO3 and has a thickness much larger than the length of correlations determined by the exchange field. The deviation of the superconducting current in the mesa-heterostructure with the fraction of the second harmonic of 13% from a sinusoidal current-phase relation has been detected; this deviation can also be due to the generation of the triplet component of superconducting correlations in the ferromagnet.

Electron Transport in Hybrid Superconductor Heterostructures with Manganite Interlayers

Hybrid herostructures comprising an YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) high-temperature superconductor (HTS) layer and Nb/Au low-temperature superconductor (LTS) bilayer (with critical HTS and LTS temperatures Tc and T′c, respectively), separated by a thin (dM = 5–20 nm) interlayer of LaMnO3, La0.7Ca0.3MnO3, or La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 manganite have been studied. The electric resistance and magnetic properties of individual (evaporated directly onto the substrate) manganite films and related hybrid herostructures have been measured. Based on quasi-classical equations, analytical expressions for the conductivity of herostructures at T ≤ T′c are obtained in the case of a low-transparency superconductor/manganite interface. It is established that the conductivity of heterostructures is determined by the proximity effect (related to the penetration of a condensate wavefunction from the Nb/Au bilayer to manganite) and depends strongly on interface transparency. At low temperatures (T ≪ Tc′), the conductivity peaks are found at voltages determined by the exchange field of the manganite interlayer. At Tc′ < T < Tc, conductivity features at nearly zero bias voltages are observed, which are related to the superconductivity of the YBCO electrode.

Characterization and dynamics of [100]-tilted Y-B-C-O bicrystal junctions on Nd-Ga-O/sub 3/

We report on the fabrication technique and electrical properties of Basal Plane Tilted YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ (YBCO) superconducting bicrystal Josephson Junctions (BTJ). In order to form the grain boundary in BTJ we apply an inclination of the [001] YBCO basal planes around the direction of {100} YBCO in contrast to the common In-Plane Tilted bicrystal Josephson Junctions (ITJ) where misorientation of the crystallographic axes in the ab-plane of YBCO has been used. Symmetric and asymmetric junctions were fabricated on bicrystal NdGaO/sub 3/ substrates 13-28/spl deg/ tilted from [110] NdGaO/sub 3/. DC and RF properties of the BTJ were investigates at temperatures 4.2-77 K, in magnetic fields up to 100 G, and under influence of electromagnetic radiation of 56 GHz frequency. The experimental dependences of critical current and Shapiro steps from RF current fit the Resistive Shunted model of Josephson junctions (RSJ-model). At T=77 K the BTJ reveal critical current density j/sub C/=0.2-0.5 MA/cm/sup 2/ and characteristic voltage V/sub C/=I/sub C/R/sub N/=0.6-0.9 mV, that makes the junctions promising candidate for practical electronic devices.

Proximity effect and electron transport in oxide hybrid heterostructures with superconducting/magnetic interfaces

We report on electron transport in oxide heterostructures with superconducting/magnetic (S/M) thin film interfaces. The investigated hybrid mesa-heterostructures consist of a cuprate superconductor, a nonsuperconducting cuprate (antiferromagnetic) or manganite (ferromagnetic) interlayer with thickness d(M) = 5-50 nm and a conventional superconductor (Nb). The superconducting critical current (I-C) with a critical current density j(c) = 10(3) A cm(-2) (for d(M) = 10 nm) and a characteristic voltage ICRN = 100-200 mu V (RN is normal resistance) are observed at liquid helium temperature for a CaXSr1-XCuO2 antiferromagnetic cuprate interlayer with a thickness of d(M) = 10-50 nm. The superconducting current-phase relation of heterostructures deviates from the regular sine type, demonstrating a second harmonic component. These hybrid heterostructures with S/M interfaces show unusually high sensitivity to external magnetic fields. When substituting the cuprate interlayer by a manganite film, no critical current was observed although the manganite interlayer was made several times thinner (down to d(M) <= 5 nm).

Quantum Interference Filters Based on Oxide Superconductor Junctions for Microwave Applications

We have studied superconducting quantum interference filters (SQIFs) based on bicrystal neodymium gallate substrates, which can be used in the microwave frequency range. The characteristics of a serial SQIF have been compared for the first time with those of a single superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and a chain of serially connected SQUIDs with equal areas of superconducting loops. The regime of SQIF operation with a voltage-flux (V-Φ) characteristic determined by the magnetic-field dependence of the critical current in the Josephson junction has been analyzed. It is shown that the output noise of a SQIF measured with a cooled amplifier in the 1–2 GHz range is determined by the slope of the V-Φ characteristic. The influence of a spread in the parameters of Josephson junctions in the SQIF on the integral V-Φ characteristic of the whole structure is considered.

Spin-filter tunneling in superconducting mesa structures with a ferromagnetic manganite interlayer

We have studied the current transport and magnetism in epitaxial hybrid superconducting mesa structures consisting of a cuprate superconductor and superconducting niobium with a manganite LaMnO3 (LMO) interlayer. We have shown experimentally using magnetic resonance that the magnetization, magnetic anisotropy parameters, and transition temperature to the ferromagnetic state of the interlayer of the structures are analogous to those of an autonomous LMO film grown on a neodymium gallate substrate. The estimate of the barrier height obtained from the dependence of the characteristic resistance of mesa structures on the interlayer thickness has shown the barrier height variation with the thickness in the range of 5–30 mV. The temperature dependences of the conductivity of the mesa structure in the range between superconducting transition temperatures of the superconductors can be described in the theory taking into account the d-wave nature of the superconductivity for one of the electrodes and the spin-filtering of carriers passing through the tunnel interlayer. Spin-filtering is confirmed by the tunnel magnetoresistance and the high sensitivity of mesa structures to a weak external magnetic field in a voltage interval smaller than the gap of niobium.

Spin-triplet electron transport in hybrid superconductor heterostructures with a composite ferromagnetic interlayer

Hybrid YBa2Cu3O7 − x/SrRuO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/Au-Nb superconductor mesastructures with a composite manganite-ruthenate ferromagnetic interlayer are studied using electrophysical, magnetic, and microwave methods. The supercurrent in the mesastructure is observed when the interlayer thickness is much larger than the coherence length of ferromagnetic materials. The peak on the dependence of the critical current density on the interlayer material thickness corresponds to the coherence length, which is in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions for a system with spit-triplet superconducting correlations. The magnetic-field dependence of the critical current is determined by penetration of magnetic flux quanta and by the magnetic domain structure, as well as by the field dependence of disorientation of the magnetization vectors of the layers in the composite magnetic interlayer. It is found that the supercurrent exists in magnetic fields two orders of magnitude stronger than the field corresponding to entry of a magnetic flux quantum into the mesastructure. The current-phase relation (CPR) of the supercurrent of mesastructures is investigated upon a change in the magnetic field from zero to 30 Oe; the ratio of the second CPR harmonic to the first, determined from the dependence of the Shapiro steps on the microwave radiation amplitude, does not exceed 50%.

Electron transport in manganite bicrystal junctions

The transport and magnetic properties of junctions created in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films epitaxially grown on substrates with a bicrystal boundary have been investigated. In tilted neodymium gallate bicrystal substrates, the NdGaO3(110) planes are inclined at angles of 12° and 38°. The temperature dependences of the electrical resistance, magnetoresistance, and differential conductance of the junctions at different voltages have been measured and analyzed. It has been found that the magnetoresistance and electrical resistance of the junction significantly increase with an increase in the misorientation angle, even though the misorientation of the easy magnetization axes remains nearly unchanged. The ratio of the spin-dependent and spin-independent contributions to the conductance of the bicrystal junction increases by almost an order of magnitude with an increase in the misorientation angle from 12° to 38°. The magnetoresistance of the junction increases with decreasing temperature, which is most likely associated with an increase of the magnetic polarization of the electrons. It has been shown that, at low (liquid-helium) temperatures, the conductance depends on the voltage V according to the law V1/2, which indicates the dominant contribution from the electron-electron interaction to the electrical resistance of the junction. An increase in the temperature leads to a decrease in this contribution and an increase in the contribution proportional to V3/2, which is characteristic of the mechanism involving inelastic spin scattering by surface antiferromagnetic magnons.

Spin-dependent electron transport in manganite bicrystal junctions

Magnetic bicrystal films and junctions of magnetic La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) and La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) films epitaxially grown on NdGaO3 substrates with the (110) planes of their two parts misoriented (tilted) at angles of 12°, 22°, 28°, and 38° are investigated. For comparison, bicrystal boundaries with a 90° misorientation of the axes of the NdGaO3 (110) planes were fabricated. The directions of the axes and the magnetic anisotropy constants of the films on both sides of the boundary are determined by two independent techniques of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The magnetic misorientation of the axes in the substrate plane has been found to be much smaller than the crystallographic misorientation for tilted bicrystal boundaries, while the crystallographic and magnetic misorientation angles coincide for boundaries with rotation of the axes. An increase in the magnetoresistance and characteristic resistance of bicrystal junctions with increasing misorientation angle was observed experimentally. The magnetoresistance of bicrystal junctions has been calculated by taking into account the uniaxial anisotropy, which has allowed the contributions from the tunneling and anisotropic magnetoresistances to be separated. The largest tunneling magnetoresistance was observed on LCMO bicrystal junctions, in which the characteristic resistance of the boundary is higher than that in LSMO boundaries.