Coexistence and coupling of superconductivity and magnetism in thin film structures

Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Nov 4;95(19):197201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.197201. Epub 2005 Nov 1.

Abstract

Superconducting and magnetic order are usually mutually exclusive, and are found to coexist in relatively few materials. We have obtained direct evidence for a spin-density wave (SDW) coexisting with bulk superconductivity in a ferromagnetic-superconducting trilayer. In the superconducting state the amplitude of the SDW is enhanced and modeling the data also suggests a pi/2 phase shift of one component of the SDW, implying a profound coupling of these two forms of order.