Pt and CoB trilayer Josephson $π$ junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Abstract

We report on the electrical transport properties of Nb based Josephson junctions with Pt/Co68B32/Pt ferromagnetic barriers. The barriers exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which has the main advantage for potential applications over magnetization in-plane systems of not affecting the Fraunhofer response of the junction. In addition, we report that the Pt stabilizes the magnetization of our Co68B32 so that there is no magnetic dead layer, allowing us to study barriers with ultra-thin Co68B32. In the junctions, we observe that the magnitude of the critical current oscillates with increasing thickness of the Co68B32 strong ferromagnetic alloy layer. The oscillations are attributed to the ground state phase difference across the junctions being modified from zero to π. The multiple oscillations in the thickness range 0.2 dCoB 1.4 nm suggests that we have access to the first zero-π and π-zero phase transitions. Our results fuel the development of low-temperature memory devices based on ferromagnetic Josephson junctions.