Interference effect on a Josephson junction with magnetic interfaces

Abstract

We study the proximity effect in a superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNS) layer with spin-active interfaces, paying particular attention to the effect of interference on the transition between 0 and pi states of a Josephson junction. We compute the supercurrent density in the ballistic limit by using the Green's function formalism without making the quasiclassical approximation to study the interference effect due to coherent scattering of quasiparticles from the interfaces. The supercurrent is strongly influenced by various factors such as the thickness of the normal layer, the strength of the interface potential, and the orientation of the interface spin. We also discuss the symmetry of the induced superconducting pair amplitude for the 0 and the pi states. The detailed features of the effect of interference on the Josephson junction can be important for applications of quantum devices.