Magnetization texture imprints produced by flux avalanches in ferromagnet/insulator/superconductor heterostructures

TL;DR

This study reveals how flux avalanches in superconducting/ferromagnetic heterostructures create stable, complex magnetic textures in the ferromagnetic layer, confirmed by experiments and micromagnetic simulations.

Contribution

It demonstrates the imprinting of flux avalanche patterns onto ferromagnetic layers and validates the findings with micromagnetic simulations.

Findings

Flux avalanches produce stable in-plane magnetic textures.

Textures mimic dendritic flux patterns from the superconductor.

Magnetic textures persist above the superconductor's critical temperature.

Abstract

The magnetic textures generated by a perpendicularly applied magnetic field at the ferromagnetic layer of $Co/Al_{2}O_{3}/Nb$ thin film heterostructures are investigated using magneto-optical imaging and micromagnetic simulations. It is observed that the stray field caused by flux avalanches in the superconducting layer prints out a non-trivial in-plane texture in the cobalt layer, which remains stable up to temperatures much above the Nb critical temperature. These textures mimic quite closely the dendritic thermomagnetic flux avalanches that penetrate the Nb layer from its edges. For low cobalt thickness, the filamentary magnetic textures occur in pairs with opposite polarity. The previous in-plane magnetization determines the relative location of the magnetic filaments with respect to the avalanche position. Micromagnetic simulations solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation confirm the interpretation given for the experimental findings.