Magnetic anisotropy of superconducting transition in S/AF heterostructures with spin-orbit coupling

Abstract

The influence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on superconducting correlations in thin-film superconductor/antiferromagnet (S/AF) structures with compensated interfaces is studied. A unique effect of anisotropic enhancement of proximity-induced triplet correlations by the SOC is predicted. It manifests itself in the anisotropy of the superconducting critical temperature Tc with respect to orientation of the Neel vector relative to the S/AF interface, which is opposite to the behaviour of Tc in superconductor/ferromagnet structures. We show that the anisotropy is controlled by the chemical potential of the superconductor and, therefore, can be adjusted in (quasi)2D structures.