Geometric and magnetic properties of Co/Pd system

We measured geometric and magnetic properties of Co films on the Pd(1 1 1) surface by X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD), X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) at the Co L_2,3 edge, and the surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE) measurements. Co thin films are found to grow incoherently with fcc island structure on the smooth Pd(1 1 1) substrate. Comparison of MCD and SMOKE measurements of Co thin films grown on rough and smooth Pd(1 1 1) surfaces suggests that perpendicular remnant magnetization and Co orbital moment are enhanced by the rough interface. Pd capping layer also induces perpendicular orbital moment enhancement. These observations indicate the influence of hybridization between Co 3d and Pd 4d at the interface on the magnetic anisotropy.     

Structural and magnetic properties of BCC Fe/Co (0 0 1) superlattices

In thin layered Fe/Co (0 0 1), grown on MgO (0 0 1), both Fe and Co crystallize in the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure, as seen in a series of superlattices where the layer thickness of the components is varied from two to twelve atomic monolayers. These superlattices have novel magnetic properties as observed by magnetization and polarized neutron reflectivity measurements. There is a significant enhancement of the magnetic moments of both Fe and Co at the interfaces. Furthermore, the easy axis of the system changes from [1 0 0] for films of low cobalt content to [1 1 0] for a Co content exceeding 33%. No indication of a uniaxial anisotropy component is found in any of the samples. The first anisotropy constant (K₁) of BCC Co is found to be negative with an estimated magnitude of 110 kJ/m³ at 10 K. In all cases, the magnetic moments of Fe and Co have parallel alignment.     

Pressure effect on magnetic properties of RCo12B6 (R=Y,Ce) compounds

The effect of pressure on magnetic properties of YCo₁₂B₆ and CeCo₁₂B₆ was studied in temperature range 5–300 K at pressures up to 9 kbar. The Curie temperature T_C and spontaneous magnetization M_S decrease with pressure for both compounds. The decrease can be attributed mostly to the volume dependence of both, the Co magnetic moment and the exchange interactions. The hybridization of the p–d states as a consequence of small distances between the Co and B atoms can be one reason of the relatively low pressure effects (ΔT_C/Δp=?0.39±0.02 K/kbar, d ln M_S/dp=?0.0013±0.0002 kbar^?1) in YCo₁₂B₆. Higher volume sensitivity of magnetic properties of CeCo₁₂B₆ in comparison with YCo₁₂B₆ can be attributed to the pressure induced changes of the Ce f- and Co d-states.     

Strain-dependent electronic and magnetic of Co-doped monolayer of WSe2

We perform first-principles calculation to investigate electronic and magnetic properties of Co-doped WSe₂ monolayer with strains from −10% to 10%. We find that Co can induce magnetic moment about 0.894 μ_B, the Co-doped WSe₂ monolayer is a magnetic semiconductor material without strain. The doped system shows half-metallic properties under tensile strain, and the largest half-metal gap is 0.147 eV at 8% strain. The magnetic moment (0.894 μ_B) increases slightly from 0% to 6%, and jumps into about 3 μ_B at 8% and 10%, which presents high-spin state configurations. When we applied compressive strain, the doped system shows a half-metallic feature at −2% strain, and the magnetic moment jumps into 1.623 μ_B at −4% strain, almost two times as the original moment 0.894 μ_B at 0% strain. The magnetic moment vanishes at −7% strain. The Co-doped WSe₂ can endure strain from −6% to 10%. Strain changes the redistribution of charges and magnetic moment. Our calculation results show that the Co-doped WSe₂ monolayer can transform from magnetic semiconductor to half-metallic material under strain.     

Enhancement of magnetic properties of Co/Pd multilayered perpendicular magnetic recording media by using Pd/Si dual seedlayer

Effects of the introduction of a Pd/Si dual seedlayer on the microcrystalline structure and magnetic properties of [Co/Pd]_n multilayered perpendicular magnetic recording media were investigated. The Pd/Si dual seedlayer was composed of a Pd upper seedlayer and a Si under seedlayer. The Pd upper seedlayer with a thickness of up to 10 nm markedly increased the coercivity of [Co/Pd]_n multilayered media in the direction perpendicular to the film surface. The highest coercivity of 7.8 kOe was obtained for the [Co/Pd]₁₀ medium with a Pd (10 nm)/Si (100 nm) dual seedlayer. The Pd upper seedlayer not only facilitated the formation of regular interfaces between the Co and Pd layers, but also reduced the thickness of the deteriorated initial layer in the [Co/Pd]_n multilayer, resulting in enhancement of the magnetic anisotropy field. The [Co/Pd]_n multilayered medium with the Pd/Si dual seedlayer exhibited weak intergranular exchange coupling between [Co/Pd]_n grains, which led to excellent read–write characteristics.     

Deposition of superconducting CeCoIn5 thin films by co-sputtering and evaporation

Thin superconducting films of CeCoIn₅ were prepared in situ by simultaneous thermal evaporation of indium and dc magnetic field assisted sputtering of planar metallic Ce and Co targets. To achieve an effective sputtering of the magnetic Co target a special geometry with two facing planar targets (Ce and Co) and magnetic field perpendicular to the targets was used. The stoichiometric (0 0 1)-oriented CeCoIn₅ films were grown on r-cut sapphire substrates with a high-rate of 100 nm/min. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity revealed the characteristic heavy-fermion behavior and a superconducting transition at about 2 K in agreement with the literature data for CeCoIn₅ bulk material and thin films.     

Low-magnetic moment and strong anisotropy in non-doped iron-based superconductors

We perform first-principles calculations with a specific LDA + U scheme for non-doped iron based superconductor LaFeAsO, which exhibits an antiferromagnetic ordering with an unexpected low-magnetic moment compared to the one predicted by standard first-principles calculations. Consequently, we find two stable electronic structures, one of which has the high magnetic moment ～2.0 μ_B equivalent with the previous calculation results, and another of which reproduces the low magnetic moment ～0.3 μ_B as obtained experimentally. The former is stable in U = 0, whereas the latter becomes stable in an intermediate U range. The latter well explains various anomalous features as observed experimentally.     

Influence on magnetic properties of substitution of Co for Fe in TbFe11.3Nb0.7

The magnetic properties of Tb(Fe_1−xCo_x)_11.3Nb_0.7 compounds with x=0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.3 have been investigated. All compounds studied crystallize in the ThMn₁₂-type of structure. Substitution of Co for Fe leads to a contraction of the unit-cell volume. The Curie temperature clearly increases with increasing Co content from 551 K for x=0 to 831 K for x=0.3. The magnetic moment of the transition-metal sublattice increases with increasing Co content from 22.2 μ_B/f.u. for x=0 to 23.1 μ_B/f.u. for x=0.3. As the temperature increases, a spin reorientation from easy-plane to easy-cone is found in all compounds investigated. The spin-reorientation temperatures T_sr have been derived from the temperature dependence of the magnetization in a low field and decrease monotonously with increasing Co content. The easy magnetization direction at room temperature has been determined by X-ray diffraction on magnetically-aligned powder samples. The influence of the substitution of Co for Fe on the magnetic anisotropy is discussed in terms of crystal-field theory.     

Large spontaneous Hall angle in [Co,CoFe/Pt] multilayer

We have quantitatively investigated the Hall effect in [Co, CoFe/Pt] multilayer films. The [Co, CoFe/Pt] multilayers exhibit large spontaneous Hall resistivity (ρ_H) and Hall angle (ρ_H/ρ). Even though the Hall resistivity in [Co, CoFe/Pt] multilayer films (2.7–4 × 10⁻⁷ Ω cm) is smaller than that of amorphous RE–TM alloy films which show large spontaneous Hall resistivity (<2 × 10⁻⁶ Ω cm), the Hall angle of multilayer (6–8%) is almost twice than that in amorphous rare earth–transition metal alloy films (∼3%). The Hall angle provides evidence of the effects of the exchange interaction of the Hall scattering. The exchange is between conduction electron spins and the localized spins of the transition metal. The large Hall angle of [Co, CoFe/Pt] multilayer can be considered due to the high spin polarization and high Curie temperature of Co and CoFe transition metal layers. Even though the role of interfaces and surfaces in the magnetic properties of multilayer films may dominate that of the bulk, the Hall effects in [Co, CoFe/Pt] multilayer may be mainly dominated by the bulk effect.     

Thin films of molecule-based charge transfer complex cobalt tetracyanoethylene: In situ X-ray photoemission study

Thin films of molecule-based charge transfer magnet, cobalt tetracyanoethylene [Co(TCNE)_x, x ~ 2] consisting of the transition metal Co, and an organic molecule viz. tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) have been deposited by using physical vapor deposition method under ultra-high vacuum conditions at room temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique has been used extensively to investigate the electronic properties of the Co(TCNE)_x thin films. The XPS measurements show that the prepared Co(TCNE)_x films are clean, and oxygen free. The stoichiometries of the films, based on atomic sensitive factors, are obtained, and yields a ~ 1:2 ratio between metal Co and TCNE for all films. Interestingly, the positive shift of binding energy position for Co(2p), and negative shifts for C(1s) and N(1s) peaks suggest a charge-transfer from Co to TCNE, and cobalt is assigned to its Co(II) valence state. In the valence band investigation, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of Co(TCNE)_x is found to be at ~ 2.4 eV with respect to the Fermi level, and it is derived either from the TCNE^? singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) or Co(3d) states. The peaks located at ~ 6.8 eV and ~ 8.8 eV are due to TCNE derived electronic states. The obtained core level and valence band results of Co(TCNE)_x, films are compared with those of V(TCNE)_x thin film magnet: a well known system of M(TCNE)_x type of organic magnet, and important points regarding their electronic properties have been brought out.     

Low-temperature magnetic ordering in the perovskites Pr1−xAxCoO3 (A=Ca,Sr)

The magnetic and electrical properties of polycrystalline Pr_1?xA_xCoO₃ cobaltites with A=Ca, Sr and 0≤x≤0.5 were studied in the temperature range 4 K≤T≤1000 K and field up to 7 T. The X-ray analyses show the presence of only one phase having monoclinic or orthorhombic symmetry. The magnetic measurements indicate that the Ca-doped samples have at low temperatures, similar properties to the frustrated magnetic materials. PrCoO₃ is a paramagnetic insulator in the range from 4 to 1000 K. The Sr-doped cobaltites exhibit two phase transitions: a paramagnetic–ferromagnetic (or magnetic phase separated state) phase transition at about 240 K and a second one at about 100 K. The magnetic measurements suggest the presence of magnetic clusters and a change in the nature of magnetic coupling between Co ions at low temperatures. A semiconducting type behavior and high negative magnetoresistance was found for the Ca-doped samples, while the Sr-doped ones were metallic and with negligible magnetoresistance. The results are analyzed in the frame of a phase separation scenario in the presence of the spin-state transitions of Co ions.     

Anomalous scaling behaviour of cobalt cluster size distributions on graphite,epitaxial graphene and carbon-rich (6√3 × 6√3)R30°

The influence of the underlying interface on adsorption of cobalt (Co) is investigated by comparing the nucleation and growth of Co at room temperature on three carbon (C) surfaces, i.e. highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), epitaxial graphene/SiC(0001) (hereafter abbreviated as EG) and precursor of EG i.e. C-rich (6√3 × 6√3)R30°/SiC(0001) (hereafter abbreviated as 6√3). On all three surfaces, Co adopts Volmer–Weber growth mode via formation of three-dimensional dome-shaped nanoclusters. Co clusters formed on 6√3 surface are smaller but denser than Co/HOPG or Co/EG. Scaling analysis reveals a critical nucleus size, i* = 1 (atom) and the smallest stable cluster (i* + 1) would be a dimer. Co/HOPG and Co/EG have the same order of magnitude for their cluster densities and sizes. Scaling analyses however show that the i* for Co/EG (i* = 3) is larger than Co/HOPG (i* = 0) and in this respect the smallest stable cluster would be tetramer and monomer respectively. This difference is attributed to the influence of an interface situated between graphene and SiC bulk. It appears that EG is more inert than HOPG towards the adsorption of Co and may act as a better substrate to host Co clusters.     

Compositional and structural medium energy ion scattering study of the temperature mediated diffusion determination at the Co/V interface in Co/V/MgO(100)

The impact of annealing at 300 °C on the elemental composition and the atomic structure of the Co/V interface in the 2.5 Å Co/70 Å V/MgO (100) system has been investigated by medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) using 100 keV He⁺ ions. By combining the experimental MEIS results with simulations we show that, while the Co/V interface is abrupt for the system kept at room temperature, annealing at 300 °C induces a strong interdiffusion leading to a Co_0.5V_0.5 surface bcc alloy with a high degree of disorder. Additionally, the MEIS data suggest that the surface of the annealed system is slightly rumpled by ~ 0.2 Å.     

Effect of Ni deficit on the electronic structure and magnetic properties of PrNi2−xSb2

The influence of a Ni deficit in the nickel sublattice on the electronic and magnetic properties of PrNi_2−xSb₂ compound is investigated. The band structure is calculated using the LMTO method for x=0, 0.50, 1.0 and 1.5. At T=0 K the compound is antiferromagnetic with a magnetic moment on Pr close to 2.0 μ_B.     

Magnetic and structural properties of the electrochemically deposited arrays of Co and CoFe nanowires

Magnetic and structural properties of the arrays of 18 nm diameter nanowires of Co and Co₉₀Fe₁₀ electrodeposited in the pores of anodic alumina are investigated. Arrays of Co and Co₉₀Fe₁₀ nanowires show perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and textured crystallographic behaviour. Coercivity H_c (⊥) and remanence M_r/M_s (⊥) values of 2275 Oe (Co₉₀Fe₁₀); 1188 Oe (Co) and 96% (Co₉₀Fe₁₀), 81% (Co) are observed. The continuous films of Co and Co₉₀Fe₁₀ on Cu substrates show in plane magnetic anisotropy and coercivity values between 109 and 288 Oe.     

Magnetic properties of GdCo12B6 compound under high pressures

The effects of hydrostatic pressure up to 10 kbar on Curie temperature T_C, compensation temperature T_COMP and spontaneous magnetization M_S of ferrimagnetic GdCo₁₂B₆ compound have been studied. Two antiferromagnetically coupled sublattices that are carrying magnetization of typically 0.42 μ_B/Co atom and 7 μ_B/Gd cancel out at compensation temperature at about 50 K and magnetic ordering temperature T_C=163±2 K. The volume dependence of intrinsic magnetic properties of the GdCo₁₂B₆ compound has been determined by studying it under hydrostatic pressure. The observed increase of M_S with pressure (dM_S/dp=+0.005 μ_B kbar^?1 at 5 K) is attributed predominantly to the pressure induced decrease of Co magnetic moments. The crucial role of Co in this behavior is confirmed by the change of sign of the pressure slope at temperatures above T_COMP and by the fact that the estimated decrease of m_Co is also quite comparable with pressure induced decrease of M_S in YCo₁₂B₆ (dM_S/dp=?0.007 μ_B kbar^?1). The decrease of m_Co is also responsible for the increase of T_COMP with pressure (dT_COMP/dp=+0.06 K kbar^?1). The decrease of T_C with pressure (dT_C/dp=?0.55 K kbar^?1) is comparable to the decrease observed on RCo₁₂B₆ compounds with non-magnetic R and can be attributed to the volume dependence of Co–Co exchange interactions. The remarkable role of the hybridization as a consequence of small distances between Co and B atoms could be a background of this rather unexpected volume stability of magnetic properties.     

Electric field gradients at 181Ta probe in ZrNi: Results from perturbed angular correlation and first-principles calculations

Results of temperature dependent perturbed angular correlation (PAC) measurements in the equiatomic ZrNi alloy have been reported for the first time using ¹⁸¹Hf probe. At room temperature, values of quadrupole frequency and asymmetry parameter for the major component (~80%) are found to be ω_Q=26.8(4) Mrad/s, and η=0.413(7). The resulting electric field gradient comes out to be V_zz=2.99 ×10¹⁷ V/cm² and this corresponds to the probe nuclei occupying the regular substitutional Zr sites. In ZrNi system, no magnetic interaction is observed down to 77 K indicating absence of any magnetism in this material. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies on an inactive but similarly prepared sample confirm the dominant presence of the orthorhombic ZrNi phase in the sample. A complementary density functional theory (DFT) calculation results in V_zz=−2.35×10¹⁷ V/cm², η=0.46 at the ¹⁸¹Ta probe impurity site and zero magnetic moment on each atomic site, in close agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, it is found that electric field gradient for the regular component follows a T^3/2 temperature dependence between 77 and 353 K, beyond which it varies linearly with temperature.     

Stabilization of high spin FCC Fe in (Fe/Pd)n multilayers

Polycrystalline (Fe/Pd)_n multilayers are grown onto sapphire substrates at room temperature in a UHV system. The number of periods n=40 and the thickness of Pd layers of t_Pd=4 nm are kept constant, whereas the thickness of the Fe layers is varied from 1.5 to 5 nm. Structural properties are studied by in situ reflection high energy diffraction (RHEED), scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and ex situ by X-ray diffraction at small angles and large angles. Analyzing the experimental data using the program SUPREX we obtain interplanar distances of d_Fe=2.03±0.01 Å for an Fe layer thickness larger than about 2.5 nm as expected for (1 1 0) planes of BCC Fe. For Fe layers with thicknesses less than about 2.5 nm the interplanar distance is d_Fe=2.1±0.01 Å, which is close to the distance between (1 1 1) planes of FCC Fe with a lattice parameter of a=3.64 Å. Magnetic susceptibility measurements at temperatures between 1.5 and 300 K for (Fe/Pd)_n multilayers with FCC Fe yield a magnetic moment per Fe atom of μ=2.7±0.1 μ_B, which is about 20% larger compared to μ=2.2 μ_B for BCC Fe. We show that the occurrence of the large magnetic moment originates from FCC Fe being in the high spin (HS) state rather than from polarization effects of Pd at Fe/Pd interfaces.     

Structural and magnetic properties of the double perovskite Sr2MnWO6

The nuclear and magnetic structure and the magnetic properties of the polycrystalline double perovskite Sr₂MnWO₆ have been studied. Rietveld analysis of neutron powder diffraction (NPD) data at T=295 K shows that the sample is tetragonal (space group P4₂/n, a=8.0119(4) Å, c=8.0141(8) Å). Some additional magnetic diffraction peaks were found in the NPD pattern at 10 K, which can be accounted for by antiferromagnetic ordering of spins at the Mn sites. The magnetic unit cell is doubled in all three unit axes directions (a=b=15.9984(8) Å, c=16.012(2) Å) and the manganese moments are coupled antiferromagnetically along the unit cell axes. The total magnetic moment of Mn²⁺ is found to be 2.27(7) μ_B. The antiferromagnetic behaviour was confirmed from magnetisation measurements. The transition from a paramagnetic to an antiferromagnetic state takes place at 13.0±0.1 K.     

Neutron diffraction study of the CeFeSi-type RTiGe compounds (R=Pr,Nd, Tb–Er)

Neutron diffraction experiments were carried out on polycrystalline RTiGe (R=Pr, Nd, Tb–Er) samples. These compounds crystallise with the tetragonal CeFeSi-type structure (space group P4/nmm). This structure is closely related to the ThCr₂Si₂-type and can be described as “BaAl₄ blocks” connected via R–R contacts (“W blocks”). All the compounds are antiferromagnetic. PrTiGe and NdTiGe are characterised by an easy-plane sine-modulated structure characterised by a wave vector k=0,0,q_z=0.242 and 0.334 below 62 and 128 K, respectively. Below 80 K, NdTiGe exhibits a commensurate arrangement, which consists on ferromagnetic (0 0 1) Nd layers coupled antiferromagnetically along the c direction with the sequence ++−−. This commensurate magnetic ordering also occurs in TbTiGe, DyTiGe, HoTiGe and ErTiGe below 312, 185, 124 and 36 K, respectively. In the first three compounds (R=Tb−Ho), the magnetic moment is aligned along the c-axis whereas it is localised in the basal plane in ErTiGe. In all the RTiGe compounds, the magnitude of the ordered moments at 2 K amounts nearly to the free ion magnetic moment (gJ) values for the respective R³⁺ ions.