title: Spin polarization measurement of homogeneously doped Fe(1-x)Co(x)Si nanowires by Andreev reflection spectroscopy.
abstract: We report a general method for determining the spin polarization from nanowire materials using Andreev reflection spectroscopy implemented with a Nb superconducting contact and common electron-beam lithography device fabrication techniques. This method was applied to magnetic semiconducting Fe(1-x)Co(x)Si alloy nanowires with x̅ = 0.23, and the average spin polarization extracted from 6 nanowire devices is 28 ± 7% with a highest observed value of 35%. Local-electrode atom probe tomography (APT) confirms the homogeneous distribution of Co atoms in the FeSi host lattice, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) establishes that the elemental origin of magnetism in this strongly correlated electron system is due to Co atoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry,  University of Wisconsin-Madison , 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Degrave
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.forename: Rachel S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Selinsky
authors.forename: Jeremy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Keavney
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jin