Realisation of de Gennes’ absolute superconducting switch with a heavy metal interface

Hisakazu Matsuki, Alberto Hijano, Grzegorz P. Mazur, Stefan Ilić, Binbin Wang, Iuliia Alekhina, Kohei Ohnishi, Sachio Komori, Yang Li, Nadia Stelmashenko, Niladri Banerjee, Lesley F. Cohen, David W. McComb, F. Sebastián Bergeret, Guang Yang () and Jason W. A. Robinson ()
Additional contact information
Hisakazu Matsuki: University of Cambridge
Alberto Hijano: Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM-MPC) Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU
Grzegorz P. Mazur: University of Cambridge
Stefan Ilić: Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM-MPC) Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU
Binbin Wang: The Ohio State University
Iuliia Alekhina: University of Cambridge
Kohei Ohnishi: Kindai University
Sachio Komori: Nagoya University
Yang Li: University of Cambridge
Nadia Stelmashenko: University of Cambridge
Niladri Banerjee: Imperial College London
Lesley F. Cohen: Imperial College London
David W. McComb: The Ohio State University
F. Sebastián Bergeret: Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM-MPC) Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU
Guang Yang: University of Cambridge
Jason W. A. Robinson: University of Cambridge

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract In 1966, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes proposed a non-volatile mechanism for switching superconductivity on and off in a magnetic device. This involved a superconductor (S) sandwiched between ferromagnetic (F) insulators in which the net magnetic exchange field could be controlled through the magnetisation-orientation of the F layers. Because superconducting switches are attractive for a range of applications, extensive studies have been carried out on F/S/F structures. Although these have demonstrated a sensitivity of the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) to parallel (P) and antiparallel (AP) magnetisation-orientations of the F layers, corresponding shifts in Tc (i.e. ΔTc = Tc,AP − Tc,P) are lower than predicted with ΔTc only a small fraction of Tc,AP, precluding the development of applications. Here, we report EuS/Au/Nb/EuS structures where EuS is an insulating ferromagnet, Nb is a superconductor and Au is a heavy metal. For P magnetisations, the superconducting state in this structure is quenched down to the lowest measured temperature of 20 mK meaning that ΔTc/Tc,AP is practically 1. The key to this so-called 'absolute switching' effect is a sizable spin-mixing conductance at the EuS/Au interface which ensures a robust magnetic proximity effect, unlocking the potential of F/S/F switches for low power electronics.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61267-2

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