Superconducting proximity effect and interface transparency in Nb/PdNi bilayers

The proximity effect between a superconductor S and a weak ferromagnet F in sputtered Nb/Pd0.86Ni0.14 bilayers has been studied. The dependence of the critical temperature on the S- and F-layer thicknesses can be interpreted in the framework of recent theoretical models and yields reasonable numbers for the exchange energy of the ferromagnet and the interface transparency of the S/F barrier.