NSF/ONR: Proximity Effects, Tunneling and Spin-Injection in Yttrium-Barium-Copper-Oxide Films as a Function of Crystallographic Orientation

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9421957 Greene Non-Technical Abstract: This is an experimental research project directed at measuring electronic and spin transport across interfaces to high-temperature superconductors as a function of crystallographic orientation. High-quality, superconducting films of yttrium-barium-copper-oxide are grown in-situ in four different crystallographic orientations, and layered, in most cases in-situ, with normal metals ( superconductors above their superconducting transition temperature), insulators and ferromagnetic metals. Our primary goals are to establish the existence and magnitude of a proximity effect in these materials, perform proximity electron tunneling spectroscopy to extend our knowledge of the intrinsic gap parameter properties and to study the spin transport across the superconducting interface. The latter measurements will be performed in collaboration with scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D. C. %%% Technical Abstract: This is an experimental research project directed at measuring electronic and spin transport across interfaces to high-temperature superconductors. These experiments will be performed on four different crystallographic orientations of the high-temperature superconductor yttrium- barium-copper-oxide. High-quality, crystallographically oriented superconducting films are grown and layered with a variety of materials, including insulators, normal metals and magnetic materials. Our primary goals are to understand the leakage of superconducting pairs into a juxtaposed normal metal, determine details of the intrinsic superconducting state and to measure spin transport across the superconducting interface. The spin injection experiments will be done in collaboration with scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory. ***