UC Irvine

This thesis describes a experiment that demonstrates the ability to have magnetic control of the triplet component amplitude in a Nb/Co/Cu/Co/CoO superconducting spin valve. The experiment is done by measuring the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, in the multilayers as a function of the angle alpha between the magnetic moments of the Co layers. The measurements reveal that Tc(alpha) is a nonmonotonic function, with a minimum near alpha = pi/2. The experimental data were compared with numerical self-consistent solutions of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations calculated by our collaborators. This thesis shows that experimental data and theoretical evidence agree in relating Tc(alpha) to enhanced penetration of the triplet component of the condensate into the Co/Cu/Co spin valve in the maximally noncollinear magnetic configuration.