77 research outputs found
Measurement of Spin Polarization by Andreev Reflection in Ferromagnetic In1-xMnxSb Epilayers
We carried out Point Contact Andreev Reflection (PCAR) spin spectroscopy
measurements on epitaxially-grown ferromagnetic In1-xMnxSb epilayers with a
Curie temperature of ~9K. The spin sensitivity of PCAR in this material was
demonstrated by parallel control studies on its non-magnetic analog,
In1-yBeySb. We found the conductance curves of the Sn point contacts with
In1-yBeySb to be fairly conventional, with the possible presence of
proximity-induced superconductivity effects at the lowest temperatures. The
experimental Z-values of interfacial scattering agreed well with the estimates
based on the Fermi velocity mismatch between the semiconductor and the
superconductor. These measurements provided control data for subsequent PCAR
measurements on ferromagnetic In1-xMnxSb, which indicated spin polarization in
In1-xMnxSb to be 52 +- 3%
Spin-dependent Transparency of Ferromagnet/Superconductor Interfaces
Because the physical interpretation of the spin-polarization of a ferromagnet
determined by point-contact Andreev reflection (PCAR) is non-trivial, we have
carried out parameter-free calculations of PCAR spectra based upon a
scattering-theory formulation of Andreev reflection generalized to
spin-polarized systems and a tight-binding linear muffin tin orbital method for
calculating the corresponding scattering matrices. PCAR is found to measure the
spin-dependent interface transparency rather than the bulk polarization of the
ferromagnet which is strongly overestimated by free electron model fitting.Comment: 4 pages, 1figure. submitte
Measurements of Spin Polarization of Epitaxial SrRuO3 Thin Films
We have measured the transport spin-polarization of epitaxial thin films of
the conductive ferromagnetic oxide, SrRuO3, using Point Contact Andreev
Reflection Spectroscopy (PCAR). In spite of the fact that spin-up and spin-down
electronic densities of states at the Fermi level for SrRuO3 calculated from
band structure theory are practically the same, the experimental transport spin
polarization for these films was found to be about 50%. This result is a direct
consequence of the Fermi velocity disparity between the majority and minority
bands and is in good agreement with our theoretical estimates.Comment: 12 pages pdf onl
Point Contact Spin Spectroscopy of Ferromagnetic MnAs Epitaxial Films
We use point contact Andreev reflection spin spectroscopy to measure the
transport spin polarization of MnAs epitaxial films grown on (001) GaAs. By
analyzing both the temperature dependence of the contact resistance and the
phonon spectra of lead acquired simultaneously with the spin polarization
measurements, we demonstrate that all the point contacts are in the ballistic
limit. A ballistic transport spin polarization of approximately 49% and 44% is
obtained for the type A and type B orientations of MnAs, respectively. These
measurements are consistent with our density functional calculations, and with
recent observations of a large tunnel magnetoresistance in MnAs/AlAs/(Ga,Mn)As
tunnel junctions.Comment: 5 Figure
Transport spin polarization of Ni_xFe_{1-x}: electronic kinematics and band structure
We present measurements of the transport spin polarization of Ni_xFe_{1-x}
(0<x<1) using the recently-developed Point Contact Andreev Reflection
technique, and compare them with our first principles calculations of the spin
polarization for this system. Surpisingly, the measured spin polarization is
almost composition-independent. The results clearly demonstrate that the sign
of the transport spin polarization does not coincide with that of the
difference of the densities of states at the Fermi level. Calculations indicate
that the independence of the spin polarization of the composition is due to
compensation of density of states and Fermi velocity in the s- and d- bands
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