Dual-mode superconducting diode effect enabled by in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic field

Abstract

The discovery of the superconducting diode effect (SDE) has been cherished as a milestone in developing superconducting electronics. Tremendous efforts are being dedicated to realizing SDE in a wide variety of material platforms. Despite the diversity in the hosting materials and device designs, SDE is usually operated in a single mode which is enabled by either out-of-plane or in-plane magnetic field/magnetization. In this work, we report the realization of a dual-mode SDE in 2H-$\mathrm{NbS_2}$/2H-$\mathrm{NbSe_2}$ heterostructures where both the out-of-plane magnetic field $B_{\perp}$ and in-plane magnetic field $B_{||}$ can independently generate and manipulate SDE. The two modes share similar diode efficiency but differ in two aspects: 1. $B_{\perp}$-induced SDE is activated by a field on the order of 1 mT while $B_{||}$-induced SDE requires a field on the order of 100 mT; 2. $η$ of $B_{\perp}$-induced SDE exhibits a square-root like temperature dependence while $η$ of $B_{||}$-induced SDE takes a more linear-like one. We demonstrate that the dual-mode SDE is most likely a result of mirror symmetry breaking along multiple orientations. Thanks to the two orders difference in the operational field for the two modes, we propose a dual-functionality device scheme to showcase the potential of the dual-mode SDE in realizing advanced superconducting architecture, where fast polarity-switching functionality is implemented with $B_{\perp}$-induced SDE and high-fidelity functionality is enabled with $B_{\perp}$-induced SDE.