Field-induced spin mixing in ultrathin superconducting Al and be films in high parallel magnetic fields

We report spin-dependent electron density of states (DOS) studies of ultrathin superconducting Al and Be films in high parallel magnetic fields. Superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunneling spectra are presented in which both the film and the counterelectrode are in the paramagnetic limit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2004-02, Vol.92 (6), p.067003-067003, Article 067003
Main Author: Adams, P W
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report spin-dependent electron density of states (DOS) studies of ultrathin superconducting Al and Be films in high parallel magnetic fields. Superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunneling spectra are presented in which both the film and the counterelectrode are in the paramagnetic limit. This SIS configuration is exquisitely sensitive to spin mixing and/or spin flip processes which are manifest as DOS singularities at eV=2 Delta(0)+/-eV(z). Both our Al and Be data show a well defined subgap peak whose magnitude grows dramatically as the parallel critical field is approached. Though this feature has previously been attributed to spin-orbit scattering, it is more consistent with fluctuations into a field induced mixed-spin state.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.067003