A phenomenological theory of superconductor diodes

Abstract Nonreciprocal responses in noncentrosymmetric systems contain a broad range of phenomena. Especially, non-dissipative and coherent nonreciprocal transport in solids is an important fundamental issue. The recent discovery of superconductor (SC) diodes under external magnetic fields, where the magnitude of the critical current changes as the direction is reversed, significantly boosted this research area. However, a theoretical understanding of such phenomena is lacking. Here, we provide theoretical descriptions of SC diodes with a generalized Ginzburg–Landau method. The theory is applied to Rashba spin–orbit coupled systems, where analytical relations between the nonreciprocal critical currents and the system parameters are achieved. Numerical calculations with mean-field theory are also obtained to study broader parameter regions. These results offer a rather general description and design principles of SC diodes.