Programmable superconducting diode from nematic domain control in FeSe

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a programmable superconducting diode in FeSe, where electronic nematic domains control diode polarity and efficiency, enabling dynamic circuit reconfiguration.

Contribution

It introduces a method to program superconducting diode functionality via manipulation of nematic domain patterns in FeSe.

Findings

Achieved a superconducting diode efficiency up to 75%.

Controlled diode polarity by modifying nematic domain configurations.

Used microsecond current pulses to reprogram domain patterns and diode behavior.

Abstract

The superconducting diode effect (SDE) allows polarity-dependent critical currents when time-reversal and current-inverting spatial symmetries are broken. Superconducting diodes show promise for applications, but inversion asymmetry is usually encoded in sample geometry or non-centrosymmetric crystals, rendering them static circuit elements. Here we demonstrate a programmable superconducting diode whose functionality is encoded in correlated electronic domains. We use the nematic superconductor FeSe as a platform and report a large intrinsic SDE with efficiencies up to $\eta \sim 75\%$ due to vortices interacting with nematic twin boundaries. The domain wall configuration thus encodes the SDE of the device. Through intense microsecond current pulses to quench the nematic order at rates exceeding $10^7$ K/s, we modify the domain pattern and control the polarity and strength of the SDE. These results establish a new paradigm in which superconducting circuit elements can be programmed through patterns imprinted into correlated electronic states.