Diamagnetic mechanism of critical current non-reciprocity in multilayered superconductors

Abstract

A superconducting diode effect was recently reported in Nb/V/Ta superlattices, but the mechanism is not yet clear. Here, the authors study non-reciprocal critical current in Al/InAs nanowires and propose a generic extrinsic mechanism involving field-generated diamagnetic currents, which may explain the earlier Nb/V/Ta results.