Spin selectivity in a ferromagnet results from a difference in the density of up- and down-spin electrons at the Fermi energy as a consequence of which the scattering rates depend on the spin orientation of the electrons. The feasibility of superconducting spintronics depends on the spin sensitivity of ferromagnets to the spin of the equal spin-triplet Cooper pairs, which arise in superconductor (S)–ferromagnet (F) heterostructures with magnetic inhomogeneity at the S–F interface. Here, the critical temperature dependence on magnetic configuration in current-in-plane F–S–F spin valves with a holmium spin mixer at the S–F interface is reported providing evidence of a spin selectivity of the ferromagnets to the spin of the triplet Cooper pairs.
Nature Communications 5, 3048 (2014).
