U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

PUBLICATIONS

Analysis of Point-Contact Andreev Reflection Spectra in Spin Polarization Measurements

Published

Author(s)

G T. Woods, Robert J. Soulen, I I. Mazin, B Nadgorny, M. S. Osofsky, J Sanders, H. Srikanth, William F. Egelhoff Jr., Raju V. Datla

Abstract

We present a systematic analysis of point-contact Andreev reflection (PCAR) spectra for ferromagnetic materials, using both modeling and experimental data. We emphasize the importance of consistent data analysis to avoid possible misinterpretation of the data. We consider the relationship between ballistic and diffusive transport, the effect of different transport regimes on spin polarization measurements, and the importance of unambiguous identification of the type of transport regime. We find that in a realistic parameter range, the analysis of PCAR spectra of purely diffusive character by a ballistic model yield approximately the same (within approximately} 3 %) values of the spin polarization and the barrier strength Z larger by approximately} 0.5 to 0.6. We also consider the dependence of polarization values on Z, and have shown by simple modeling that letting the superconducting gap vary as an adjustable parameter can result in a spurious dependence of the spin-polarization Pc on Z. At the same time we analyzed the effects of finite Z on the apparent value of Pc measured by the PCAR technique, using a large number of examples from both our own measurements and from the literature. We conclude that there is a system-dependent variation in Pc (Z), presumably due to spin-flip scattering at the interface. However, the exact type of this dependence is hard to determine with any statistical certainty.
Citation
Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

Andreev reflection, chromium dioxide, spintronics, superconductors

Citation

Woods, G. , Soulen, R. , Mazin, I. , Nadgorny, B. , Osofsky, M. , Sanders, J. , Srikanth, H. , Egelhoff Jr., W. and Datla, R. (2021), Analysis of Point-Contact Andreev Reflection Spectra in Spin Polarization Measurements, Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics) (Accessed July 27, 2024)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created October 12, 2021