Electrical control of magnetization in superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor junctions on a three-dimensional topological insulator

Abstract

Strong dependence of the Josephson energy on the magnetization orientation in Josephson junctions with ferromagnetic interlayers and spin-orbit coupling opens a way to control magnetization by Josephson current or Josephson phase. Here we investigate the perspectives of magnetization control in superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor (S/F/S) Josephson junctions on the surface of a 3D topological insulator hosting Dirac quasiparticles. Due to the spin-momentum locking of these Dirac quasiparticles a strong dependence of the Josephson current-phase relation on the magnetization orientation is realized. It is demonstrated that this can lead to splitting of the ferromagnet's easy axis in the voltage driven regime. We show that such a splitting can lead to stabilization of an unconventional fourfold degenerate ferromagnetic state.