Magnetic proximity-induced superconducting diode effect and infinite magnetoresistance in a van der Waals heterostructure

Abstract

We report unidirectional charge transport in a NbSe2 noncentrosymmetric superconductor that is exchange-coupled with a CrPS4 van der Waals layered antiferromagnetic insulator. The NbSe2/CrPS4 bilayer device exhibits bias-dependent superconducting critical-current variations of up to 16%, with magnetochiral anisotropy reaching ∼105T-1A-1. Furthermore, the CrPS4/NbSe2/CrPS4 spin-valve structure exhibits the superconducting diode effect with critical-current variations of up to 40%. We also utilize the magnetic proximity effect to induce switching in the superconducting state of the spin-valve structure. Finally, it exhibits an infinite magnetoresistance ratio depending on the field sweep direction and magnetization configuration. Our result demonstrates a novel route for enhancing the nonreciprocal response in the weak external field regime (<50mT) by exploiting the magnetic proximity effect.