ACTA

Magnetoresistance of Si/Nb/Si Trilayers

I. Zaytseva^a, M.Z. Cieplak^a, A. Abal'oshev^a, P. Dluzewski^a, G. Grabecki^a, W. Plesiewicz^a, L.Y. Zhu^b and C.L. Chien^b
^aInstitute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
^bDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

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We study the superconductor-insulator transition in Si/Nb/Si trilayers, in which the thickness of Si is fixed at 10 nm, and the nominal thickness of Nb changes in the range between d = 20 nm down to d = 0.3 nm. The transmission electron microscopy indicates the formation of the mixed Nb-Si layer for small d. Both the thickness-induced, and the magnetic-field induced superconductor-insulator transition is observed. The crossing point of the isotherms at the critical field B_c decreases with decreasing d, and it is T-independent at temperatures below 300 mK. At larger fields the weak peak in magnetoresistance appears in some of the films.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.118.406
PACS numbers: 74.62.-c, 74.25.F-, 74.25.Ha, 74.62.En