Non-reciprocal electron transport in finite-size superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers with strong spin-orbit coupling

Abstract

We show that spin-orbit coupling at the interface between a superconducting film of the finite lateral size and the underlying ferromagnetic insulator with in-plane exchange field gives rise to a series of non-reciprocal effects provided the superconducting pairing is enhanced near the boundaries of the superconductor due to, e.g., variation of the film thickness or of the interlayer electron transparency. Specifically, the critical temperature and the critical depairing current are shown to depend on the relative orientation between the exchange field in the ferromagnet and the superconducting film boundaries. The discovered anisotropy of the superconducting properties is promising for the design of diode-type elements in superconducting spintronics.