Publication Date:
2016-07-09
Description:
Author(s): E.-M. Anton, S. Granville, A. Engel, S. V. Chong, M. Governale, U. Zülicke, A. G. Moghaddam, H. J. Trodahl, F. Natali, S. Vézian, and B. J. Ruck Ferromagnetism and superconductivity are two generally incompatible states of matter. Their coexistence has been observed only under very unusual circumstances and so far only in metals. In contrast, most semiconductors are not naturally magnetic or superconducting, but introducing magnetism or superconductivity into semiconductors is seen as an important step towards radical improvement of our electronics capabilities and therefore a hotly pursued goal. Here, the authors report the discovery of superconductivity coexisting with ferromagnetism in the semiconducting material samarium nitride (SmN). The large intrinsic exchange splitting of the conduction band in SmN requires the superconducting order to be of unconventional (likely p -wave) type. Superconductivity is observed to be even further enhanced in superlattices where layers of SmN alternate with layers made of the strongly ferromagnetic but non-superconducting material gadolinium nitride. These features render SmN an interesting laboratory for understanding more about the fundamentals of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in semiconductors and exploring opportunities for integrating superconducting spintronics into the design of semiconductor-based electronic devices. [Phys. Rev. B 94, 024106] Published Thu Jul 07, 2016
Keywords:
Structure, structural phase transitions, mechanical properties, defects
Print ISSN:
1098-0121
Electronic ISSN:
1095-3795
Topics:
Physics
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