A1 Journal article (refereed)
Current Rectification in Junctions with Spin-Split Superconductors (2022)

Ilić, S., Virtanen, P., Heikkilä, T. T., & Bergeret, F. S. (2022). Current Rectification in Junctions with Spin-Split Superconductors. Physical Review Applied, 17(3), Article 034049. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.17.034049

JYU authors or editors

Virtanen, Pauli
Heikkilä, Tero

Publication details

All authors or editors: Ilić, Stefan; Virtanen, Pauli; Heikkilä, Tero T.; Bergeret, F. Sebastián

Journal or series: Physical Review Applied

eISSN: 2331-7019

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 17/03/2022

Volume: 17

Issue number: 3

Article number: 034049

Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.17.034049

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access:

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/81861

Web address of parallel published publication (pre-print): https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.10201

Abstract

Spin-split superconductors exhibit an electron-hole asymmetric spin-resolved density of states, but the symmetry is restored upon averaging over spin. On the other hand, asymmetry appears again in tunneling junctions of spin-split superconductors with a spin-polarized barrier. As demonstrated recently in both theory and experiment, this fact leads to a particularly strong thermoelectric effect in superconductor-ferromagnet structures. In this work we show another important effect stemming from the electron-hole asymmetry: current rectification. We calculate the charge current in spin-polarized tunnel junctions of a normal metal and a spin-split superconductor with ac and dc voltage bias. In the dc case, the I-V curve is not fully antisymmetric and has a voltage-symmetric component due to spin polarization. This translates to the existence of a rectified current in the ac case, which is proportional to the spin polarization of the junction and strongly depends on the frequency of the applied bias. We discuss possible applications of the rectification effect, including a diode for superconducting electronics and radiation detectors. The analysis of the rectified charge current is supplemented by the discussion of heat current and relevant noise correlators, where electron-hole asymmetry also plays an important role, and which are useful for applications in detectors.

Keywords: superconductors; superconductivity; spin (quantum mechanics); nanoelectronics

Fields of science: