Spin-polarized Specular Andreev Reflections in Altermagnets

We show theoretically that specular Andreev reflection occurs stably ataltermagnet–superconductor interfaces, which is a phenomenon that haspreviously been predicted only in a limited range of materials, such asDirac/Weyl materials with fine-tuned chemical potentials. Furthermore, thecharacteristic spin-split bands of the altermagnet lead to a distinctive spinpolarization in the specular Andreev reflections. By utilizing this feature, wepropose a device that integrates the functions of both a Cooper pair splitterand a spin beam splitter, thereby creating energy-entangled electron pairs. Thepositive nonlocal conductance and the positive noise cross-correlation areunambiguous signatures of specular Andreev reflections in the proposed device.

Further reading#

• Access Paper in arXiv.org