- Letter
Sign control of the critical-temperature switching in oxide superconducting spin valves
Phys. Rev. Applied 23, L061003 – Published 17 June, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6xqk-62jx
Abstract
In a ferromagnet/superconductor/ferromagnet (F/S/F) superconducting spin valve, the critical temperature () of S is controllable by the magnetization alignment of the two F layers through pair-breaking mechanisms such as magnetic exchange fields and stray fields. In high- oxide superconducting spin valves, -switching is more complicated than in metallic systems due to the anisotropic gap causing low-energy quasiparticle excitations down to low temperatures and, therefore, key parameters determining the origin, sign, and magnitude of -switching have not been fully understood yet. Here, we systematically investigate oxide superconducting spin valves with various F layers and demonstrate that the electrical resistivity of the F layers determines the sign of -switching. We find that insulating F layers that can suppress proximity leakage of Cooper pairs lead to magnetic-exchange-field-induced -switching while conducting F layers lead to -switching with the opposite sign. The results offer insight into the origins of the complex -switching effects in oxide superconducting spin valves and are useful in designing oxide superconducting spintronic devices.