Flexible Superconducting Spintronics: Geometric control of low-dissipation, long-distance information processing

We will examine how some materials’ ability to conduct currents without heat loss (superconductivity) combines with other materials. Specifically, we will explore the role of geometry and strain/torsion, and how these can be used to generate and control signals that can be used for computation. It is a project that will develop our theoretical, fundamental understanding of material behaviour, with applications in new nanodevice design and functionality, which may advance the goal of dramatically reducing the energy cost of computation. The project builds on our established expertise and international networks, and will apply the principles we developed to new classes of materials and geometries. We will train two new researchers in the techniques, and strengthen international bonds and experimental collaborations. We aim to reveal novel methods for controlling and harnessing superconductivity, facilitate new device design, and to enable new synergies with other branches of quantum mechanics and relativity research.

Superconducting spintronics is a fertile arena for uncovering new fundamental physics, and may be key to dramatically reducing the energy loss associated with computation. We examine novel ways of combining the competing phases of superconductivity and magnetism, to acquire resistance-free information transport in the form of spin-polarized superconductivity. The last decades have seen great international investment in understanding the underlying physics of rigid, straight nanowires and flat thin films. This geometrical restriction places strict constraints on device design and innovation. Meanwhile, considerable experimental advances in materials design and manipulation have increasingly led the separate magnetism and superconductivity communities to consider the benefits of geometric curvature and strain in device design. To merge the benefits of these developments in superconducting spintronics and curvilinear magnetism, we have, in the last four years, developed a theoretical framework for describing superconductivity-flow in curved magnetic wires. Our SuperFlex project will apply that insight to show that geometric curvature can effectuate transformative device design and control of superconducting circuit architectures. We will examine non-equilibrium spin transport in wires and nanoinductors, and develop the theoretical framework for thin-film structures with curvature in two dimensions. We will reveal novel mechanisms for controlling the interactions between superconductivity and spintronic materials, and superconductivity and light. Our geometric spin-transport theory will provide versatile tools for probing previously unexplored synergies with fields ranging from holography and quantum optics, to sensing and cryogenic self-assembly.