Differential conductance of the ferromagnet/superconductor interface of DyBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ba1/3MnO3 heterostructures

Abstract

The voltage bias, temperature, and magnetic field dependence of the differential conductance of the interface between a half-metallic ferromagnet and a high-Tc superconductor have been studied in DyBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ba1/3MnO3 heterostructures. Below the superconducting transition the differential conductance exhibits a dip at zero bias whose amplitude is a decreasing function of temperature and/or magnetic field. These results are interpreted qualitatively using a picture based on the suppression of Andreev reflection as a consequence of the high spin polarization of the carriers in the half-metallic ferromagnet.