Phys. Rev. B 75, 224506 (2007) [4 pages]Competition between proximity-induced superconductivity and pair breaking: Ag sandwiched between Nb and FeReceived 12 April 2007; published 13 June 2007 The magnetization of superconductor and/or normal-metal (Nb∕Ag) double layers is investigated in dependence on temperature T and magnetic field B. Screening currents in the normal-metal induced by the proximity effect give rise to a diamagnetic transition in a weak magnetic field at a temperature Tb. The phase transition is suppressed when Fe is in direct contact with Ag. Surprisingly, the diamagnetic signal of Ag is recovered for small Ag film thickness dAg. These findings are qualitatively explained by the competition in the Ag layer between proximity-induced superconductivity by the Nb layer and pair breaking by the ferromagnetic Fe layer. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.224506
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevB.75.224506
PACS:
74.45.+c, 74.25.Ha, 74.78.−w
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