Effects of Ni buffer layer on giant magnetoresistance in Co/Cu/Co sandwich

In order to increase the sensitivity of Co/Cu/Co sandwiches, different thickness Ni layers were used as buffer layer. It was found that in the Co 55 Å/Cu 35 Å/Co 55 Å sandwiches with different thickness Ni buffer layers, MR ratios between 3.5% and 5.6% could be obtained, and the coercive forces were about 12 Oe. Hence, the maximum field sensitivity could be enhanced to about 1%/Oe. Further investigation from the results of atomic force microscopy showed the improvement of the interfacial flatness in the sandwiches with Ni buffer layer. The microstructure observed by high-resolution electron microscope demonstrated the different structure of the two Co layers in the Ni buffered sandwich, which directly determined the small saturation field of the sandwich. This was confirmed by the magnetic behaviors of the two Co layers calculated from the experimental hysteresis loops. All these showed that the usage of a Ni buffer layer could result in interfacial improvement, different crystalline structure, and small saturation field in the Co/Cu/Co sandwich. These enhanced the electron spin scattering at the Co–Cu interfaces and finally enlarged the giant magnetoresistance and the sensitivity in the sandwich.     

在Pd/Cu(100)表面上外延的超薄Co膜的结构和磁性

利用脉冲激光溅射(PLD)和分子束外延(MBE)方法制备了超薄膜系统 Co/Pd/Cu(100).脉冲激 光溅射生长的单原子Pd层呈现了很好的二维生长模式.在这个Pd表面上，分子束外延生长的C o层直至12个原子层都表现了层-层生长模式.利用俄歇电子谱(AES)和低能电子衍射(LEED)研 究了该系统的表面结构.利用低温磁光克效应(MOKE)研究了系统的磁学性质.结构研究表明， Co层由于面内晶格失配应力而具有一个四方正交结构；与对比样品Co/Cu(100)的比较研究说 明Pd层的存在强烈地改善了Co膜的起始生长模式和结构.磁光克效应测量表明，Pd层的存在 改变了Co层的磁学性质. 关键词： 薄膜的磁性质 组织与形貌 界面磁性     

Magnetization reversal and domains structures in (Co/Ni/Co/Pt) multilayers

Multilayers of [Co/Ni(t_Ni)/Co/Pt]_×4 are investigated for different Ni insertion layer thicknesses. The resulting magnetic properties and magnetic domain structures are compared with [Co/Ni]_×8 multilayers. As determined by magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy and a vibrating sample magnetometer measurements, all multilayers exhibited a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. It is found that the nucleation field and magnetic coercivity of [Co/Ni(t)/Co/Pt]_×4 multilayers are lower than (Co/Ni)_×8 and decreased with Ni thickness. Magnetization decay measurements reveal that these multilayers did not show an exponential decay behavior as was observed in rare earth transition metal alloys. Very narrow wires will remain stables for several hours even with an applied magnetic field closer to the coercivity. Insertion of very thin Ni in (Co/Pt) multilayers offers a good way to optimize the magnetic properties of the material and adjust the domain size for nanowire-based devices.     

Coverage Dependence of Growth Mode in Heteroepitaxy of Ni on Cu(100) Surface

A realistic kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation model with physical parameters is developed, which well reproduces the heteroepitaxial growth of multilayered Ni thin film on Cu(100) surfaces at room temperature. The effects of mass transport between interlayers and edge diffusion of atoms along the islands are included in the simulation model, and the surface roughness and the layer distribution versus total coverage are calculated. Specially, the simulation model reveals the transition of growth mode with coverage and the difference between the Ni heteroepitaxy on Cu(100) and the Ni homoepitaxy on Ni(100). Through comparison of KMC simulation with the real scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments, the Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barrier E_es is estimated to be 0.18±0.02 eV for Ni/Cu(100) system while 0.28 eV for Ni/Ni(100). The simulation also shows that the growth mode depends strongly on the thickness of thin film and the surface temperature, and the critical thickness of growth mode transition is dependent on the growth condition such as surface temperature and deposition flux as well.     

Spin-pumping-enhanced magnetic damping in ultrathin Cu(0 0 1)/Co/Cu and Cu(0 0 1)/Ni/Cu films

The influence of the Cu capping layer thickness on the spin pumping effect in ultrathin epitaxial Co and Ni films on Cu(0 0 1) was investigated by in situ ultrahigh vacuum ferromagnetic resonance. A pronounced increase in the linewidth is observed at the onset of spin pumping for capping layer thicknesses d_Cu larger than 5 ML, saturating at d_Cu = 20 ML for both systems. The spin mixing conductance for Co/Cu and Ni/Cu interfaces was evaluated.     

Vibrational spectroscopy of ordered oxygen adiayers on Ni/Cu(001) and Co/Cu(001) thin film systems

We report surface vibrations in c(2 × 2) oxygen adlayers on Ni and Co thin films on a Cu(001) substrate measured at gG by high resolution EELS. For the Ni thin film surface, one phonon peak is measured for varying film thicknesses from 1.3 ML (monolayer) to 6 ML with a constant energy of 221 cm⁻¹. For the Co thin film surface, three loss peaks are found, whose relative intensities change as the film thicknesses are varied. One loss peak at ˜520 cm⁻¹ is tentatively assigned to the Fuchs-Kliewer mode of cobalt oxide (CoO). The other two peaks at 317 and 376 cm⁻¹ are likely related to different bonding sites. Surface phonons on the p(2 × 2) Co thin film (389 cm⁻¹) and a bulk resonance mode (115 cm⁻¹) are also reported.     

Effect of alloy formation processes in the Co-Cu system on the magnetic and magnetoresistance properties of multilayer Co/Cu films with ultrathin Co layers prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

This paper reports on a study of multilayer Co/Cu films with an effective thickness of the Co layer of ～3.5 Å, which were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The samples prepared have been found to have a metastable multiphase structure. An analysis of the data obtained by structural and, primarily, by magnetic methods has revealed that the main phases are the Co/Cu supersaturated solid solution (alloy) with a Co concentration of about 30 at %, the superparamagnetic phase, and the paramagnetic phase, which is accounted for by the presence of small (a few atoms at most) Co clusters embedded in the Cu matrix. A clearly pronounced maximum in the temperature dependences of the low-field magnetoresistance has been found, which is associated with the temperature of the magnetic phase transition of the supersaturated Co-Cu alloy.     

X-ray magnetic circular dichroism study of the induced spin polarization of Cu in Co/Cu and Fe/Cu multilayers

We present an x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) study of Co/Cu and Fe/Cu multilayers, finding that the Cu atoms in these structures exhibit an induced magnetic moment in the d shell. The average Cu spin moment is shown to fall-off inversely with the thickness of the Cu layer. Further, for comparable Cu layer thicknesses, the Cu moments in Fe/Cu and Co/Cu multilayers are found to be nearly equal, despite the fact that the Cu layers in the Co/Cu multilayers are shown to be fee while those in the Fe/Cu structures are bcc. These observations suggest that the induced moment is primarily situated at the Co/Cu and Fe/Cu interfaces and is resultant from short range chemical hybridization between the ferromagnetic and Cu atoms. Results from a local spin density functional theory are presented and found to be in excellent agreement with experimental observations. These results indicate that the Cu d electrons play a central role in mediating the exchange coupling between successive ferromagnetic layers.     

Local atomic structure of ultra-thin Fe films grown on Cu(100)

Ultra-thin epitaxial Fe films grown by thermal deposition on Cu(100) are analyzed by scanning tunneling microscopy. Evidence is presented that the morphological characteristics and magnetic properties are a direct consequence of FCC-to-BCC transitions reminiscent of those occurring in bulk Fe. In contrast to the assumption of a ferromagnetic FCC phase in previous models of the Fe/Cu(100) system, we observe a tightly twinned and strained BCC-like phase termed nanomartensite in films below 5 ML thickness, which encompasses almost the entire film volume of 3 ML films. In addition, the surface of 7–8 ML films reconstructs by forming non-close-packed structures with BCC-like bond angles. The formation of these BCC-like phases is the reason for the expansion of the interlayer spacing observed in these films and correlates perfectly with their ferromagnetic ordering. PACS 68.55.-a; 64.70.-p; 81.30.-t     

Magnetic hyperfine fields in ultrathin Ni films on Cu(100)

The magnetic hyperfine field was measured at ¹¹¹In(¹¹¹Cd) probe atoms in ultrathin Ni films epitaxially grown on Cu(100) utilizing the perturbed -angular correlation (PAC) method. The behaviour of the hyperfine field as a function of temperature was studied for different film thicknesses ranging from 2 up to 10 monolayers. It was found that the strength of the hyperfine fields as well as the critical temperatures are strongly reduced for thin nickel films and approach the bulk value with increasing film thickness. The orientation of the hyperfine field is discussed.     

Solid-phase synthesis of solid solutions in Cu/Ni(001) epitaxial nanofilms

Solid-phase synthesis of solid solutions in the epitaxial Cu/Ni(001) bilayer film systems of compositions 3Cu: 1Ni, 1Cu: 1Ni, and 1Cu: 3Ni has been studied using the X-ray diffraction methods. The saturation magnetization and the magnetic crystallographic anisotropy constant on nickel vary in accordance with the solid solution formation. The initiation temperature of the solid solutions is about 350 °C and is independent of the Ni: Cu layer thickness ratio. The solid-phase synthesis of the solid solutions is presumably attributed to the transport of the Cu atoms to the epitaxial Ni(001) layer. It is found that the solid-phase synthesis in the Cu/Ni bilayer nanofilms and multilayers is determined by the spinodal decomposition in the Cu-Ni system.     

Pseudomorphy, surface alloys and the role of elementary clusters on the domain orientations in the Cu/Al13Co4(100) system

We have used the pseudo-tenfold surface of the orthorhombic Al(13)Co(4) crystal as a template for the adsorption of Cu thin films of various thicknesses deposited at different temperatures. This study has been carried out by means of low energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). From 300 to 573 K, Cu adatoms grow pseudomorphically up to one monolayer. At 300 K, the β-Al(Cu, Co) phase appears for coverages greater than one monolayer. For higher temperature deposition, the β-Al(Cu, Co) phase further transforms into the γ-Al(4)Cu(9) phase. Both β and γ phases grow as two (110) domains rotated by 72° ± 1° from each other. Instead of following the substrate symmetry, it is the orientations of the bipentagonal motifs present on the clean Al(13)Co(4)(100) surface that dictate the growth orientation of these domains. The initial bulk composition and structural complexity of the substrate have a minor role in the formation of the γ-Al(4)Cu(9) phase as long as the amount of Al and the Cu film thickness reach a critical stoichiometry.     

On the reorientation transition in Cu(100)/Ni n /H

Using the results of a previous study in terms of the scalar-relativistic full- potential linearized augmented-plane-wave method, the fully relativistic screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker approach is applied in order to describe the shift in the critical thickness for the so-called inverse reorientation transition from in plane to perpendicular in Ni films on Cu(100) upon loading with H. It is argued that, on average, by loading with H the interlayer distances in the Ni films would have to be reduced by about 3% or, expressed in absolute distances by about 0.05 A, compared with the bare systems, to cause the critical thickness to decrease from about 10 monolayers (ML) for the bare systems to about 8ML for completely H-covered Ni films. Calculations with statistically partial coverages with H and for a complete diffusion of H in the first Ni layer convincingly support this view.     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of multilayer Ni/Cu and NiFe/Cu nanowires

Highly ordered composite nanowires with multilayer Ni/Cu and NiFe/Cu have been fabricated by pulsed electrodeposition into nanoporous alumina membrane. The diameter of wires can be easily varied by pore size of alumina, ranging from 30 to 100 nm. The applied potential and the duration of each potential square pulse determine the thickness of the metal layers. The nanowires have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetic force microscopy (MFM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) measurements. The MFM images indicate that every ferromagnetic layer separated by Cu layer was present as single isolated domain-like magnet. This technique has potential use in the measurement and application of magnetic nanodevices.     

Electrodeposition and characterization of Cu/Co multilayers: Effect of individual Co and Cu layers on GMR magnitude and behavior

The present work discusses the successful electrodeposition of Cu/Co multilayers, exhibiting appreciable GMR of 12-14% at room temperature. The effect of individual Cu and Co layers on the magnitude and behavior of GMR has been studied. By varying the thickness of individual layers the field at which saturation in GMR is observed can be controlled. It was observed that for lower thicknesses of Co layer, the saturation fields are reduced below 1 kOe. The Cu layer thickness seems to control the nature of magnetic coupling and the saturation field, with the two showing a correlation.     

不同过渡层上Co/Cu/Co三明治结构的巨磁电阻效应研究

通过对不同过渡层上Co(5.5nm)/Cu(3.5nm)/Co(5.5nm)三明治结构的研究,发现过渡层的磁性及过渡层诱导的三明治晶格结构对材料的巨磁电阻效应有重要影响.反铁磁Cr过渡层由于和相邻铁磁Co层之间存在着反铁磁耦合,可以获得6％以上的巨磁电阻值,但它同时使材料的矫顽力较大,因此磁灵敏度不高.Ni和Ti过渡层上Co/Cu/Co三明治结构,由于形成了强的（111）织构,其巨磁电阻值也达到5％以上.磁性材料Ni过度层还使三明治结构材料的矫顽力大为下降,从而显著提高了材料的磁灵敏度. 关键词：     

磁性和非磁性元素掺杂的自旋梯状化合物Sr_(14)(Cu_(0.97)M_(0.03))_(24)O_(41)(M=Zn,Ni,Co)的结构和电输运性质

利用固相反应法制备了Sr14Cu24O41及其系列B位掺杂Sr14(Cu0.97M0.03)24O41(M=Zn,Ni,Co)的样品.X射线衍射分析显示,所有样品均为纯相,晶格常数a与c没有明显的变化;Zn掺杂样品晶格常数b没有明显变化,而Ni,Co掺杂样品晶格常数b分别稍有增加.选区电子衍射研究揭示:磁性元素Ni,Co及非磁性元素Zn掺杂,可能主要替代了Sr14Cu24O41结构中自旋链上的Cu原子,从而影响了自旋链上的dimer排列,破坏电荷有序超结构.电输运测量显示:Zn2+,Ni2+,Co3+离子掺杂样品的电阻率降低,但仍体现半导体行为,所有的掺杂样品都存在一个渡越温度Tρ,当TTρ时,其导电机理是以单空穴热激发导电占主要地位,在TTρ时,配对的局域化空穴的一维变程跳跃导电占主要优势;在相同的掺杂量下,非磁性元素Zn掺杂对电阻率值的影响大于磁性元素Ni,Co掺杂的影响,而磁性元素Ni,Co掺杂对渡越温度Tρ的影响大于非磁性元素Zn掺杂的影响.     

metamagnetic behavior of linear chain pyridine compounds: Co(Pyridine)2Cl2, Fe(Pyridine)2Cl2, Fe(Pyridine)2(NCS)2 and Ni(Pyridine)2Cl2

Magnetic phase transitions in the pyridine (pyr) compounds Co(pyr)₂Cl₂, Fe(pyr)₂Cl₂, Fe(pyr)₂(NCS)₂ and Ni(pyr)₂Cl₂ have been observed at applied magnetic fields of ～0.7, 0.7, 1.1 and 2.7 kG respectively. These low field phase transitions are observed in the Fe and Ni compounds at T = 4.2 K, and in the Co compound at T < 3K, and are consistent with metamagnetic behavior. Magnetic saturation is not achieved in any of these compounds for fields of 60 kG, reflecting high anisotropy.     

Structure and magnetic anisotropy of Co/Cu/Co films

The energy of the magnetic anisotropy of Co/Cu/Co polycrystalline ultradisperse films is investigated as a function of the thickness of copper and cobalt layers. The influence of the structure parameters (the size and distribution of defects, the period and amplitude of roughnesses) on the surface and volume components of the magnetic anisotropy is analyzed. The parameters of the structure inhomogeneities and their distribution over the film surface are determined from two-dimensional Fourier spectra and electron microscope images of the films.     

Thickness-dependent magnetic properties in Pt/[Co/Ni]n multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We systematically investigated the Ni and Co thickness-dependent perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) coefficient, magnetic domain structures, and magnetization dynamics of Pt(5 nm)/[Co($t_{\rm Co}$)/Ni($t_{\rm Ni}$)]$_{5}$/Pt(1 nm) multilayers by combining the four standard magnetic characterization techniques. The magnetic-related hysteresis loops obtained from the field-dependent magnetization $M$ and anomalous Hall resistivity (AHR) $\rho_{{xy}}$ showed that the two serial multilayers with $t_{\rm Co} = 0.2$ nm and 0.3 nm have the optimum PMA coefficient $K_{\rm U}$ as well as the highest coercivity $H_{\rm C}$ at the Ni thickness $t_{\rm Ni}= 0.6 $ nm. Additionally, the magnetic domain structures obtained by magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy also significantly depend on the thickness and $K_{\rm U}$ of the films. Furthermore, the thickness-dependent linewidth of ferromagnetic resonance is inversely proportional to $K_{\rm U}$ and $H_{\rm C}$, indicating that inhomogeneous magnetic properties dominate the linewidth. However, the intrinsic Gilbert damping constant determined by a linear fitting of the frequency-dependent linewidth does not depend on the Ni thickness and $K_{\rm U}$. Our results could help promote the PMA [Co/Ni] multilayer applications in various spintronic and spin-orbitronic devices.