The upper critical field in type II superconductors is limited by the Pauli paramagnetic limit. In superconductors with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling this limit can be overcome by forming a helical state. Here we quantitatively study the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram of finite-size superconductors with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We discuss the effect of finite size and shape anisotropy. We demonstrate that the critical field is controllable by intrinsic parameters such as spin-orbit coupling strength and tunable parameters such as sample geometry and applied field direction. Our study opens new avenues for the design of superconducting spin-valves.
@article{arxiv.2009.14592,
title = {Tunable critical field in Rashba superconductor thin-films},
author = {L. A. B. Olde Olthof and J. R. Weggemans and G. Kimbell and J. W. A. Robinson and X. Montiel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2009.14592},
year = {2021}
}