Realization of 0- π states in superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator/superconductor Josephson junctions: The role of spin-orbit interaction and lattice impurities

Josephson devices with ferromagnetic barriers have been widely studied. Much less is known when the ferromagnetic layer is insulating. In this paper we investigate the transport properties of superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator/superconductor (SFIS) junctions with particular attention paid to the temperature behavior of the critical current that may be used as a fingerprint of the junction. We investigate the specific role of impurities as well as of possible spin-mixing mechanisms due to the spin-orbit coupling. The transition between the 0 and the π phases can be properly tuned, thus achieving stable π junctions over the entire temperature range that may be possibly employed in superconducting quantum circuits.