Effect of d-f hybridization on the Josephson current through Eu-chalcogenides

Shiro Kawabata, Yasuhiro Asano, Yukio Tanaka, Satoshi Kashiwaya

Published 2010-02-26Version 1

A superconducting ring with a pi junction made from superconductor/ferromagnetic-metal/superconductor (S-FM-S) exhibits a spontaneous current without an external magnetic field in the ground state. Such pi ring provides so-called quiet qubit that can be efficiently decoupled from the fluctuation of the external field. However, the usage of the FM gives rise to strong Ohmic dissipation. Therefore, the realization of pi junctions without FM is expected for qubit applications. We theoretically consider the possibility of the pi coupling for S/Eu-chalcogenides/S junctions based on the d-f Hamiltonian. By use of the Green's function method we found that pi junction can be formed in the case of the finite d-f hybridization between the conduction d and the localized f electrons.