Comparison of NiFeCr and NiFe in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Willard, Joshua, Mishra, Swapna Sindhu, Klaes, Robert M., Emtage, Nicholas J., Loloee, Reza, Birge, Norman O.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Willard, Joshua
Mishra, Swapna Sindhu
Klaes, Robert M.
Emtage, Nicholas J.
Loloee, Reza
Birge, Norman O.
author_facet Willard, Joshua
Mishra, Swapna Sindhu
Klaes, Robert M.
Emtage, Nicholas J.
Loloee, Reza
Birge, Norman O.
contents Josephson junctions containing ferromagnetic materials are under consideration for applications in digital superconducting logic and memory. Some memory applications rely on the ability to reverse the magnetization direction of a "soft" magnetic layer within the junction using a small local magnetic field generated on the chip. It is crucial, therefore, to find a suitable soft magnetic material with a low switching field and low switching energy. A popular magnetic material for such applications is Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$, also known as Permalloy, however Permalloy has a rather large magnetization, leading to large magnetic switching energies. In this work we explore Cr-doped Permalloy, specifically Ni$_{73}$Fe$_{18}$Cr$_{9}$, which has a saturation magnetization just under two-thirds that of Permalloy. Josephson junctions containing this NiFeCr alloy undergo a 0-$π$ transition at a NiFeCr thickness of 2.3 nm, and the critical supercurrent decays in the alloy over a short characteristic length of 0.36 nm. Switching fields of a few millitesla are promising, but the short decay length and overall small values of the critical current in the Josephson junctions may preclude the use of NiFeCr in current cryogenic memory technologies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_06845
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Comparison of NiFeCr and NiFe in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions
Willard, Joshua
Mishra, Swapna Sindhu
Klaes, Robert M.
Emtage, Nicholas J.
Loloee, Reza
Birge, Norman O.
Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Josephson junctions containing ferromagnetic materials are under consideration for applications in digital superconducting logic and memory. Some memory applications rely on the ability to reverse the magnetization direction of a "soft" magnetic layer within the junction using a small local magnetic field generated on the chip. It is crucial, therefore, to find a suitable soft magnetic material with a low switching field and low switching energy. A popular magnetic material for such applications is Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$, also known as Permalloy, however Permalloy has a rather large magnetization, leading to large magnetic switching energies. In this work we explore Cr-doped Permalloy, specifically Ni$_{73}$Fe$_{18}$Cr$_{9}$, which has a saturation magnetization just under two-thirds that of Permalloy. Josephson junctions containing this NiFeCr alloy undergo a 0-$π$ transition at a NiFeCr thickness of 2.3 nm, and the critical supercurrent decays in the alloy over a short characteristic length of 0.36 nm. Switching fields of a few millitesla are promising, but the short decay length and overall small values of the critical current in the Josephson junctions may preclude the use of NiFeCr in current cryogenic memory technologies.
title Comparison of NiFeCr and NiFe in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions
topic Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06845