Proximity effect in atomic-scaled hybrid superconductor/ferromagnet structures: crucial role of electron spectra

Abstract

We study the influence of the configuration of the majority and minority spin subbands of electron spectra on the properties of atomic-scaled superconductor-ferromagnet S-F-S and F-S-F hybrid structures. At low temperatures, the S/F/S junction is either a 0 or junction depending on the energy shift between S and F materials and the anisotropy of the Fermi surfaces. We found that the spin switch effect in F/S/F system can be reversed if the minority spin electron spectra in F metal is of the hole-like type.