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

Abstract

We report unidirectional charge transport in a NbSe_{2} noncentrosymmetric superconductor that is exchange-coupled with a CrPS_{4} van der Waals layered antiferromagnetic insulator. The NbSe_{2}/CrPS_{4} bilayer device exhibits bias-dependent superconducting critical-current variations of up to 16%, with magnetochiral anisotropy reaching ∼10^{5}T^{–1}A^{–1}. Furthermore, the CrPS_{4}/NbSe_{2}/CrPS_{4} 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.