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Science 2 October 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5386, pp. 85 - 88
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5386.85
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Reports

Measuring the Spin Polarization of a Metal with a Superconducting Point Contact

R. J. Soulen Jr., J. M. Byers, * M. S. Osofsky, B. Nadgorny, T. Ambrose, S. F. Cheng, P. R. Broussard, C. T. Tanaka, J. Nowak, J. S. Moodera, A. Barry, J. M. D. Coey

A superconducting point contact is used to determine the spin polarization at the Fermi energy of several metals. Because the process of supercurrent conversion at a superconductor-metal interface (Andreev reflection) is limited by the minority spin population near the Fermi surface, the differential conductance of the point contact can reveal the spin polarization of the metal. This technique has been applied to a variety of metals where the spin polarization ranges from 35 to 90 percent: Ni0.8Fe0.2, Ni, Co, Fe, NiMnSb, La0.7Sr0.3MnO3, and CrO2.

R. J. Soulen Jr., M. S. Osofsky, B. Nadgorny, T. Ambrose, S. F. Cheng, P. R. Broussard, Materials Physics, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA. J. M. Byers, Department of Physics, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, and Materials Physics, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA. C. T. Tanaka, J. Nowak, J. S. Moodera, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. A. Barry and J. M. D. Coey, Department of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: byers{at}foucault.nrl.navy.mil

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)