Spin and charge transport in ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet heterostructures: Stoner versus spin mass mismatch mechanism

We study transport phenomena through a ballistic ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet (F/S/F) junction, comparing the case in which the ferromagnetic order in the two F layers is of the standard Stoner type with the case where it is driven by a spin mass mismatch (SMM). It is shown that the two mechanisms lead to a different behavior in the charge and the spin conductances, especially when compared to the corresponding nonsuperconducting ferromagnet-normal-ferromagnet (F/N/F) junctions. In particular, when the injected current is perpendicular to the barrier, for high barrier transparency and large magnetization of the F layers, the large mass mismatch gives rise to an enhancement of both low-bias charge and spin conductances of the F/S/F junction, which is not observed in the equal-mass case. When all the allowed injection directions are considered, the low-bias enhancement of the charge conductance for SMM leads still holds for high-barrier transparency and large magnetization of the F layers. However, in the case of nontransparent interfaces, spin transport with SMM ferromagnets exhibits an opposite sign response with respect to the Stoner case at high biases for all magnetization values, also manifesting a significant amplification induced by superconductivity at the gap edge. The above-mentioned differences can be exploited to probe the nature of the electronic mechanism underlying the establishment of the ferromagnetic order in a given material.

Automated summary

In this study, transport phenomena through a ballistic F/S/F junction were investigated, comparing different cases of ferromagnetic order in the F layers. It was found that the behavior of charge and spin conductances differs depending on the mechanisms, especially when compared to nonsuperconducting F/N/F junctions.