Josephson current in a superconductor-ferromagnet junction with two noncollinear magnetic domains

B. Crouzy; S. Tollis; D. A. Ivanov

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.75.054503

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Josephson current in a superconductor-ferromagnet junction with two noncollinear magnetic domains

B. Crouzy, S. Tollis, D. A. Ivanov

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.75.054503 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

We study the Josephson effect in a superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor (SFS) junction with ferromagnetic domains of noncollinear magnetization. As a model for our study we consider a diffusive junction with two ferromagnetic domains along the junction. The superconductor is assumed to be close to the critical temperature Tc, and the linearized Usadel equations predict a sinusoidal current-phase relation. We find analytically the critical current as a function of domain lengths and of the angle between the orientations of their magnetizations. As a function of those parameters, the junction may undergo transitions between 0 and π phases. We find that the presence of domains reduces the range of junction lengths at which the π phase is observed. For the junction with two domains of the same length, the π phase totally disappears as soon as the misorientation angle exceeds π2. We further comment on the possible implication of our results for experimentally observable 0-π transitions in SFS junctions.