Magnetization reversal dynamics in Au/Co/Au(111) ultrathin films: Effect of roughness of the buffer layer

We present a study of the magnetization reversal dynamics in ultrathin Au/Co/Au films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, for a Co thickness of 0.5, 0.7 and 1 nm. In these films, the magnetization reversal is dominated by domain nucleation for t_Co=0.5, 0.7 nm and by domain wall propagation for t_Co=1 nm. The prevalence of domain nucleation for the thickness range 0.5-0.7 nm is different from results reported in the literature, for the same system and for the same thickness range, where the magnetization reversal took place mainly by domain wall motion. We attribute this difference to the effect of roughness of the Au buffer layer on the morphology of the magnetic layer.     

The impact of annealing temperature and time on the electrical performance of Ti/Pt thin films

In this study, we focus on the influence of annealing time t_PDA (i.e. 30 min and 630 min) on the room-temperature resistivity of electron-beam-evaporated titanium/platinum thin films when exposed to thermal loads up to temperatures T_PDA of 700 °C. The titanium has a fixed thickness of 5 nm and serves as an adhesion layer. The thickness d_f,Pt of the platinum top layer is varied between 21 and 97 nm. Up to annealing temperatures of 450 °C, the film resistivity of the bi-layer system is linearly correlated with the reciprocal platinum film thickness independent of t_PDA, as expected from the size effect. At t_PDA = 30 min, the change in intrinsic film stress dominates the electrical behavior in this annealing regime, predominantly at large d_f,Pt values. Compared to t_PDA = 630 min, however, the increase in resistivity especially at low platinum film thickness is substantially larger demonstrating that titanium starts to diffuse at these long annealing times even at moderate temperatures. At T_PDA = 600 °C, the diffusion of titanium into the top layer leads to an enhanced increase in film resistivity ρ_f, especially at low platinum thicknesses and low annealing times, as the mean penetration depth of diffused titanium is under these conditions in order of d_f,Pt. Above T_PDA = 600 °C, ρ_f is slightly increased at t_PDA = 30 min. At t_PDA = 630 min, however, the film resistivity is decreased at d_f,Pt < 58 nm. This is attributed to grain growth and re-crystallization effects. Furthermore, the mean penetration depths of titanium substantially exceed d_f,Pt resulting predominantly in Ti_xO_y formation on the top film surface and hence, having low impact on ρ_f.     

Magnetization reversal in [Ni/Pt]6/Pt(x)/[Co/Pt]6 multilayers

The magnetization reversal is studied in magnetron sputtered artificial superstructures of the form [Ni/Pt]₆/Pt(x)/[Co/Pt]₆ with perpendicular anisotropy, in which the [Co/Pt]₆ stacks have higher coercivity than the [Ni/Pt]₆. For x≥2 nm the two stacks reverse separately and exhibit characteristic stepped loops with a “plateau” in the region between the two switching fields. First-Order Reversal Curves (FORCs) reveal that the maximum coupling is obtained for x=1.5 nm. While each of the Ni/Pt and Co/Pt stacks by itself is thin enough to reverse in large domains when they are coupled, formation of maze like domains is observed. In this case some reversibility of the demagnetization curves associated with interfacial domain wall pinning appears while in the rest of the cases the reversal mechanism is based on lateral domain wall pinning with low reversibility. In the loops monitored by Extraordinary Hall Effect (EHE) measurements this “plateau” appears as a hump due to the different sign of the EHE coefficient between the [Ni/Pt]₆ and [Co/Pt]₆.     

Magnetic field dependence of asymmetry in the magnetization reversal of ultrathin Co films and Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy

We studied the magnetization reversal in ultrathin [Co/Pt]_n films (n=1, 2, and 4) using magneto-optical Kerr microscopy. These materials demonstrate unusual asymmetries in the activity of nucleation centers and domain wall motion. It was found that application of very high holding magnetic field prior to magnetization reversal, exceeding some critical value much larger than the apparent saturation field, suppresses the subsequent ‘asymmetric’ nucleation centers, activity. We revealed that the ‘asymmetric’ nucleation centers become active again after subsequent reversal cycles coming from a smaller holding field and studied how the asymmetry returns with the decrease of applied holding field. It was found that in low-coercivity ultrathin Co films, the asymmetry in domain wall velocity decreased sharply with the applied field increase and disappeared when the reversal field is greater than μ₀H=1.5 mT.     

Damping constant of Co/Pt multilayer thin-film media

Gilbert's damping constants, α, of Co(t_Co)/Pt (1.4 nm) multilayer thin films are investigated by Q-band FMR analysis. α is calculated from the resonance width of the FMR spectrum. With decreasing t_Co, the α value decreases from 0.034 (t_Co=8.7 nm) to 0.023 (t_Co=1.8 nm), and then increases to 0.037 (t_Co=1.0 nm). The decrease of α with t_Co>1.8 nm is probably due to the eddy current loss effects. The increase of α with t_Co<1.8 nm would be caused by the increase of the distortion between the Co and the Pt layers at the interface. When the magnetic field direction was changed from θ=90° (parallel to the specimen) to θ=0° (perpendicular to the specimen), the α of all the specimens increased, and a sharp step in α was observed around θ=40°, where the α has the maximum value.     

Magnetic layer thickness dependence of magnetization reversal in electrodeposited CoNi/Cu multilayer nanowires

The magnetization reversal of electrodeposited CoNi/Cu multilayer nanowires patterned in an array using a hole template has been investigated. The reversal mode is found to depend on the CoNi layer thickness t(CoNi); with increasing t(CoNi) a transition occurs from coherent rotation to a combination of coherent and incoherent rotation at around t(CoNi)=51 nm. The reversal mode has been identified using the magnetic hysteresis loops measured at room temperature for CoNi/Cu nanowires placed at various angles between the directions of the nanowire axis and external fields using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The nanowire samples have a diameter of ∼250 nm and constant Cu layer thickness of 4.2 nm with various t(CoNi) ranging from 6.8 nm to 7.5 μm. With increasing t(CoNi), the magnetic easy axis moves from the direction perpendicular to nanowires to that parallel to the nanowires at around t(CoNi)=51 nm, indicating a change in the magnetization reversal mode. The reversal mode for the nanowires with thin disk-shaped CoNi layers (t(CoNi)=6.8, 12 and 17 nm) is of a coherent rotation type, while that for long rod-shaped CoNi layers (t(CoNi)=150 nm, 1.0, 2.5 and 7.5 μm) can be consistently explained by a combination of coherent rotation and a curling mode. The effects of dipole–dipole interactions between nanowires and between adjacent magnetic layers in each nanowire on the reversal process have been discussed.     

Exchange bias in (1 1 0)-orientated Bi0.9La0.1FeO3/La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 films

We performed a systematic study on the exchange bias in (1 1 0)-orientated Bi_0.9La_0.1FeO₃/La_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃ (BLFO/LCMO) heterostructure with a fixed BLFO film thickness of 600 nm and different LCMO layers ranging from t=0 to 30 nm. The LCMO is found to be weakly ferromagnetic, with the Curie temperature descending from ∼225 K to 0 as the layer thickness decreases from 30 nm to 3 nm. The main magnetic contributions come from the BLFO film, and the areal magnetization ratio is 1:0.07 for t=5 nm and 1:0.82 for t=30 nm for BLFO to LCMO at the temperature of 5 K. Further experiments show the presence of significant exchange bias, and it is, at the temperature of 10 K, ∼40 Oe for t=0 and ∼260 Oe for t=30 nm. The exchange bias reduces dramatically upon warming and disappears above the blocking temperature of the spin-glasslike behavior observed in the samples. The possible origin for exchange bias is discussed.     

Effect of film morphology on the magnetic properties for Nd-Fe-B thin films

The microstructure and magnetic properties of Nd-Fe-B thin films with a particulate structure were investigated. The nominal thickness of the Nd-Fe-B layer (t_N) was varied from 2 to 50 nm on a (0 0 1) Mo buffer layer. The films were grown with their c-axis perpendicular to the plane, and the morphology of the film with t_N=2 nm was shown to be particulate from an atomic force microscope image. The slope of the initial magnetization curve became steeper by increasing the t_N value in the initial magnetization curve, indicating that the film morphology composed of single domain particles changed to that of multi-domain particles with growth. The film with t_N=8 nm, which had a structure consisting of a mixture of single and multiple domain particles, showed the maximum value of the coercivity measured in the direction perpendicular to the film plane (H_c) as 19.5 kOe.     

Synthesis and surface modified hard magnetic properties in Co0.5Pt0.5 nanocrystallites from a rheological liquid precursor

Small crystallites of a metastable phase Co_0.5Pt_0.5 are precipitated by heating a rheological liquid precursor of cobalt–hydrazine complex and platinum chloride H₂PtCl₆·xH₂O in polymer molecules of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) in ethylene glycol. The hydrazine co-reduces nascent atoms from the Co²⁺ and Pt⁴⁺ that recombine and grow as Co_0.5Pt_0.5. The PVP molecules cap a growing Co_0.5Pt_0.5 as it achieves a critical size so that it stops growing further in given conditions. X-ray diffraction pattern of a recovered powder reveals a crystalline Co_0.5Pt_0.5 phase (average crystallite size D∼8 nm) of a well-known Fm3m-fcc crystal structure with the lattice parameter a=0.3916 nm (density ρ=14.09 g/cm³). A more ordered L1₀ phase (ρ=15.91 g/cm³) transforms (D≥25 nm) upon annealing the powder at temperature lesser than 700 °C (in vacuum). At room temperature, the virgin crystallites bear only a small saturation magnetization M_s=5.54 emu/g (D=8 nm) of a soft magnet and it hardly grows on bigger sizes (D≤31 nm) in a canted ferromagnetic structure. A rectangular hysteresis loop is markedly expanded on an optimally annealed L1₀ phase at 800 °C for 60 min, showing a surface modified coercivity H_c=7.781 kOe with remnant ratio M_r/M_s=0.5564, and M_s=39.75 emu/g. Crystallites self-assembled in an acicular shape tailor large H_c from ideal single domains and high magnetocrystalline anisotropy of a hard magnet L1₀ phase.     

Direct observation of dendritic domain growth in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy CoFe/Pt multilayers

We present the experimental results on thermally activated magnetization reversal for [Co_0.9Fe_0.1(5.0 Å)/Pt(20 Å)]₄ multilayer. Direct domain observations show that magnetization reversal is initiated with rare nucleation and followed by dendritic growth of domain walls. Based on macroscopic magnetic parameters from experimental data, the dendritic domain growth mode is qualitatively interpreted by Monte Carlo simulations in terms of a simple uniaxial magnetic anisotropy model. Moreover, both time evolution of domain growth observation and magnetic relaxation measurements reveal that CoFe/Pt multilayer has a relatively large activation volume compared with Co/Pt multilayers.     

Thickness-dependent magnetization reversal in CoZrNb amorphous films

Structure and magnetization of CoZrNb amorphous films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering have been studied as a function of film thickness (t), from 35 to 840 nm. Using comprehensive characterization, we show that the CoZrNb amorphous films possess a single phase and no nanocrystalline can be detected. The magnetic measurements indicate that the magnetization reversal of CoZrNb films is strongly dependent on t. That is, the coercivity is abruptly reduced to be lower than 4 Oe with t increasing from 35 to 105 nm, and then gradually decreases to ∼0.2 Oe as t increases. This coercivity transition versus t is accompanied by the strong magnetization reversal when t is larger than 105 nm. The results reveal that CoZrNb amorphous films with comparatively large film thickness (>100 nm) are suitable for sensors and anti-faked materials.     

Effects of soft layer softness on the magnetic properties of perpendicular exchange-coupled nanocomposite films

The anisotropy of the soft layer in the Co_100−xPt_x/Co₇₁Pt₂₉ (x=0, 7 and 17) perpendicular exchange-coupled composite (ECC) films was varied by changing the Pt content. The effects of soft layer softness (thickness and anisotropy) on the coercivity and magnetization reversal mechanisms of ECC were studied. Results showed that both remanence ratio (M_r/M_s) and coercivity of the ECC films reduced with an increase in soft layer thickness. However, the rate of coercivity reduction reduced when soft layer anisotropy was increased simultaneously. This was confirmed by the following facts. For the ECC with Co soft layer, the magnetization reversal mechanism within the ECC grains changed from coherent rotation to domain wall motion when soft layer thickness was changed from 2 to 15 nm. The impact of soft layer thickness on the magnetization reversals of the ECC grains reduced with an increase in soft layer anisotropy. On the other hand, the change of soft layer easy axis direction could possibly change the reversal mechanism of the ECC grains. The above experimental results showed that the coercivity of ECC film was controlled by the reversal mechanism inside the ECC grains.     

Enhancement of L10 ordered FePt by Pt buffer layer

L₁₀-ordered FePt thin films prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy on MgO (0 0 1) substrate at 320 °C with different thickness of Pt buffer layer have been investigated. The out-of-plane coercivity increases with increasing thickness of Pt buffer. The maximum values of the long-range order parameter and uniaxial magnetic anisotropy energy are 0.72 and 1.78×10⁷ erg/cm³, respectively, for films with 12 nm thick Pt buffer layer, where the c/a ratio (0.976) shows the minimum value. The reason for the enhancement in ordering is due to the proper lattice strains Pt buffer bestows on FePt layer, these strains are equal to the contraction in lattice parameter c and the expansion in a. Studies of angular-dependent coercivity revealed that the magnetization reversal behaviour shifts from a domain-wall motion dominated case towards a near rotational mode with increasing thickness of Pt buffer layer.     

Surface effect on the coalescence of Pt clusters: A molecular dynamics study

We have performed molecular dynamics simulations for Pt_N + Pt_N → Pt_2N (N = 147, 324, 500,792), to investigate the effect of size and substrate on coalescence temperature. Our simulations show that platinum nanoclusters coalesce at the temperatures lower than the cluster melting point. The difference between coalescence and melting temperatures decreases with the increase in cluster size and presence of substrate. These thermal behaviors affect catalytical properties of nanoclusters and the substrate, as an environment, has major effect on activity of metal nanoclusters.     

Study of magnetization reversal of Co/Pd bit-patterned media by micro-magnetic simulation

Bit-patterned media based on a single-bit-per-island may be a promising candidate for perpendicular magnetic recording at the Tb/in² level because they could provide a lower noise and higher density. The understanding of magnetization reversal processes in such patterned media is important. In this work, the range of single domain island size based on Co/Pd bit-patterned media was determined. Demagnetization effect, dipolar interactions and switching field distribution (SFD) for bit-patterned media were quantitatively studied by the simulation based on Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The total hysteresis loops and SFD were comparable with the experiment ones. The SFD increased from 2σ=1.2 kOe (as the calculated intrinsic SFD) to the experimental value of 1.9 kOe due to dipolar interactions which is in a good agreement with the experimental results (2.0 kOe). Optimized patterned structure with a minimized SFD and maximized data storage densities was found to have an island size of 10 nm and islands separation of 20 nm. The calculated ratio of SFD/H_c (H_c: the coercivity) is 9.2%, which is below the threshold of 10% for 1 Tb/in² pattern media.     

Magnetization reversal process and intrinsic coercivity of sputtered Sm2Co17-based films

The Sm₂Co₁₇-based intermetallic films with additives of Fe, Cu, and Zr have been deposited on Si(1 0 0) substrates by dc magnetron sputtering process. Subsequent thermal treatment and the film thickness are found to have significant contribution to the crystal structure and grain structure, which determines the magnetization reversal process and intrinsic coercivity (H_C) of these films. The conventional thermal annealing (CTA) treatment almost failed to crystallize the as-deposited films, leading to a very low H_C. Continuous and homogeneous domain walls cannot form in this deteriorated microstructure, so that the pinning mechanism can be excluded. Contrarily, the films with thickness exceeding 0.8 μm treated by rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) show an improved H_C, which is attributed to the observed completed crystallization and compact microstructure. It is suggested that this film structure is responsible for providing continuous and homogeneous domain walls, leading to a magnetization reversal process controlled by domain wall pinning model. In special, the H_C of the RRTA-treated film with thickness of 1.8 μm shows a good temperature dependence from 25 to 300 °C, with intrinsic coercivity temperature coefficient β of −0.23%/°C.     

Magnetic reversal mechanism in strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropic CoPt/AlN multilayer film

Magnetic reversal mechanism of the Sub/AlN5 nm/[CoPt2 nm/AlN5 nm]₅ nano multilayer film, which shows strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (K_u=6.7×10⁶ erg/cm³), has been studied. The angle-dependent magnetic hysteresis loops of this highly perpendicular anisotropic CoPt/AlN multilayer film were measured in the present work, applying a magnetic field along different angles φ with respect to the film normal. It demonstrates that the magnetic reversal of the CoPt ultrathin layers in the CoPt/AlN multilayer film is occurred by the reversible magnetization rotation and the irreversible displacement of domain walls. The φ-dependent part of coercive field is resulted from the internal stress according to the Kondorsky and Kersten model. The φ-independent part of coercive field implies some random and isotropy pinning centers (e.g., vacancies, dislocations, grain boundaries) in the ultrathin CoPt layers. Our work is useful for coercivity control of metal/ceramics layered structures, in particular the perpendicular magnetic tunneling junctions.     

Study of domain structure and magnetization reversal after thermal treatments in Fe40Co38Mo4B18 microwires

We have studied the effect of thermal treatment on the magnetic domain structure and magnetic reversal process of amorphous and nanocrystalline Fe₄₀Co₃₈Mo₄B₁₈ microwires. The domain structure and the magnetization reversal of amorphous FeCoMoB microwires reflect the complex stress distribution introduced by the glass coating. Hence, the thickness of radial domain structure decreases with temperature and the temperature dependence of the switching field presents a discontinuous behavior. After nanocrystallization, the domain structure of FeCoMoB microwire is almost constant within the temperature range 10-400 K and the switching field decreases almost linearly with temperature mostly because of the decrease of saturation magnetization.     

B and Pt NMR study of the superconductors Li2(Pd1−xPtx)3B without inversion symmetry

We report the ¹¹B and ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR measurements in non-centrosymmetric superconductors Li₂(Pd_1−xPt_x)₃B (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0). From the measurements of spin–lattice relaxation time (T₁), we found that there was a coherence peak (CP) just below superconducting transition temperature (T_c) for x = 0–0.5 but no CP in x = 1. We demonstrated that the system for x = 0–0.5 were BCS superconductors but there existed line node in the superconducting gap for x = 1.0. The ¹⁹⁵Pt Knight Shift in x = 0.2 decreased below T_c, indicating spin-singlet state. The results showed that BCS superconducting state evolves into an exotic state with line-nodes in the gap function when x is increased, as the spin–orbit coupling is enhanced.     

Density functional theory analysis of reactivity of PtxPdy alloy clusters

We investigate the reactivity of various Pt_xPd_y combinations (with x + y = 10 and various x:y ratios) towards the adsorption of specific intermediates of the oxygen reduction, using the B3PW91 hybrid density functional theory. The reactivity is shown to be not only sensitive to the composition of the cluster, but also to the atomic distribution. The calculations indicate that two different ensembles: one ordered and one randomly mixed, with overall composition Pt₃Pd₇ are thermodynamically more favorable than pure Pt₁₀ for the oxygen reduction reaction. The reasons for this behavior are clearly explained in terms of the atomic and electronic distribution, which makes the Pd atoms to act as electron donors both to Pt atoms and to the adsorbates, thus the reactivity of the Pd atoms in such environment becomes intermediate between Pt and Pd. Moreover, it is found that in a mixed Pt₃Pd₇ state the electronic distribution makes the average atom more similar to Pt than to Pd, whereas in an ordered Pt₃Pd₇ cluster, the average atom is more similar to Pd than to Pt.