Creation of the superconducting diode effect (SDE) is understood through the breaking of time reversal and inversion symmetry. Several materials have been reported to break both symmetries intrinsically. However, their potential to enhance nonreciprocal charge transport and improve diode efficiency remains to be explored. Proximity interactions from material interfaces alter vortex dynamics in superconductors, presenting methods for the evaluation and enhancement of a nonreciprocal supercurrent. Material combinations that create the diode effect through finite momentum pairing must integrate into conventional electronics and avoid the creation of stray fields. We observed an SDE in FeSeTe with an antiferromagnet (AF) layer. Interfacing a ferromagnetic superconductor with a zigzag-ordered AF layer yields a field-free diode effect, along with enhanced nonreciprocal critical current and improved diode efficiency due to increased thermal activation energy. Our results highlight a promising material combination that can be extended to complex device architectures, such as nanobridges or Josephson junctions.
Luth et al. (Thu,) studied this question.