The unconventional long range (m=1) spin triplet proximity effect is theorised to be created at a Superconductor/Ferromagnet (SC/FM) interface that is magnetically inhomogeneous and provides the conditions for spin mixing. Many experimental and theoretical works have identified the existence of the m=1 spin triplet state using Josephson junctions to show how the critical current does not diminish significantly in a thick FM layer, (thickness being relative to the decay length of a Cooper pair in an FM). In this thesis the challenge was to examine single SC/FM, interfaces via point-contact Andreev Reflection spectroscopy (PCARS), to see if it were possible to find clear signatures of the spin mixing or spin scattering conditions that facilitates formation of the spin triplet state. PCARS measurements were performed on Ho single crystals and thin films as a function of contact resistance. The results show an anomalous decrease of the polarisation parameter and an increase in interface scattering parameter as the contact resistance decreases. This is interpreted in terms of the tip experiencing a region in which some form of spin mixing or spin scattering dominates. Measurements of Ni0.19Pd0.81 spectra were also taken as a function of contact resistance but the change of polarisation and scattering parameter that was observed in the Ho samples was not observed here. PCARS temperature measurements were also taken for Ni0.03Pd0.97 to investigate if spin fluctuations close to TC could provide the magnetic inhomogeneity required for spin-mixing. However the trend in the results proved inconclusive. This is likely due to broadening that result in the fitting procedure, and the extremely small polarisation in these samples. During the course of the thesis I contributed to the development of the spectral fitting routines and examined the challenges associated with three and four parameter fitting, degenerate fits and series resistance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:587335 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Usman, Irham Tri Muharram |
| Contributors | Cohen, Lesley |
| Publisher | Imperial College London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/12254 |
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