Field-driven creep motion of a composite domain wall in a Pt/Co/Pt/Co/Pt multilayer wire

We have studied the field-driven motion of a pair of coupled Bloch domain walls in a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy Pt/Co/Pt/Co/Pt multilayer Hall bar. The nucleation of an isolated but coincident pair of walls in the two Co layers, observed by Kerr microscopy, took place at an artificial nucleation site created by Ga⁺ ion irradiation. The average velocity v of the wall motion was calculated from time-resolved magnetotransport measurements at fixed driving field H, where the influence of the extraordinary Hall effect leads to the observation of voltages at the longitudinal resistance probes. We observed a good fit to the scaling relation lnv∝H^−1/4, consistent the motion of a single 1-dimensional wall moving in a 2-dimensional disordered medium in the creep regime: the two walls are coupled together into a 1-dimensional composite object.     

Competition between domain walls and the reverse magnetization in the magnetic relaxation of a Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt spin switcher

A multilayer Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt/GaAs heterostructures demonstrates a long term (to several hours) magnetic relaxation between two stable states of the magnetization of the system. The magnetization reversal of the heterostructure layers occurs both due to the formation of nuclei of the reverse magnetization domains and as a result of their further growth by means of motion of domain walls. The competition between two these processes provides a nonexponential character of the magnetic relaxation. At 300 K, the contributions of these processes to the relaxation are commensurable, while, at temperatures lower than 200 K, the contribution of the nucleation is suppressed and the magnetic relaxation occurs as a result of motion of the domain walls.     

X-ray reflectivity data analysis using Bayesian inference: The study of induced Pt magnetization in Pt/Co/Pt

The induced Pt magnetization in a Pt/Co/Pt thin film structure is studied. The normally nonmagnetic Pt acquires a magnetic moment due to the magnetic proximity effect at the Co–Pt interfaces. Element specific Pt structural and magnetic properties are characterized by synchrotron-based resonant x-ray reflectivity and x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity measurements. An advanced analysis method based on Bayesian inference is used for model fitting of the x-ray data. Using this method, we retrieve the best fit values of material parameters (e.g., thickness, interfacial roughness) from the data. Analysis of x-ray reflectivity data of this specific system shows that the Pt magnetization and Co–Pt interfacial roughness is significantly different between the top and bottom Pt layers, with both values being larger in the top Pt. The successful application of this Bayesian method to study the magnetic and structural properties of a thin film system demonstrates its effectiveness for x-ray reflectivity data analysis.     

Magnetic and magnetooptical properties of Fe/Pt and Fe/Pt/Fe thin-film magnetic structures

Results of a study of magnetic and magnetooptical properties of Fe/Pt double-layer and Fe/Pt/Fe three-layer thin-film magnetic structures are presented. A strong effect of the Pt layer on magnetic properties of the studied samples was revealed. It was established that the saturation field of three-layer magnetic structures has an oscillating magnitude with varying Pt layer thickness, and the oscillation period is a function of the Fe layer thickness. The data obtained are explained by the presence of exchange interaction between the Fe layers via the Pt layer. A strong effect of Pt on spectral dependences of the equatorial Kerr effect in the thin-film structures under study is revealed.     

Slow Oscillations of the Perpendicular Magnetization of the Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt Spin Valve

The time dependences of the transfer of the magnetic moment between stable magnetic states of heterostructures with two Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt ferromagnetic layers with the perpendicular magnetization have been studied. Spontaneous oscillations of the macroscopic magnetization with a period of several hours are observed after switching the magnetic field to a new value. The phase portrait of the magnetic relaxation corresponds to damped oscillations. The macrospin oscillation may be due to the high nucleation rate of the reverse magnetization phase induced by the exchange and magnetic dipole interaction between the phase nucleation centers, which arise in different layers. The changes in the Zeeman energy of the system under magnetic oscillations are considered.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Pt in Co/Pt multilayers

[Co(30 Å)/Pt(x Å)]₂₀ multilayers with the Pt layer thicknesses varying from 5 Å to 20 Å were characterized structurally by high angle X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetically by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. It is found that the structure and magnetic properties of Pt have a strong correlation with the Pt layer thickness. The 20 Å thickness Pt layer is not almost influenced by the adjacent Co layer and the nearest neighbors are dominated by Pt-Pt shells. With decreasing Pt layer thickness, the nearest neighbors are gradually dominated by Pt-Co shells and the Pt-Co intermixing regions also remarkable increase at the interfaces, especially for the 5 Å thickness Pt layer. The orbital and spin magnetic moments as well as the ratio m_orb/m_spin all decrease systematically with increasing Pt layer thickness, indicating that the interface atoms are polarized by direct Pt-Co hybridization, but that the adjacent layers are polarized by Pt-Pt interactions.     

Layer-resolved magnetic moments in Ni/Pt multilayers

The magnetic moments in Ni/Pt multilayers are thoroughly studied by combining experimental and ab initio theoretical techniques. SQUID magnetometry probes the samples' magnetizations. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism separates the contribution of Ni and Pt and provides a layer-resolved magnetic moment profile for the whole system. The results are compared to band-structure calculations. Induced Pt magnetic moments localized mostly at the interface are revealed. No magnetically "dead" Ni layers are found. The magnetization per Ni volume is slightly enhanced compared to bulk NiPt alloys.     

Tunable interface anisotropy in a Pt/Co_(1-x)Fe_x/Pt multilayer

Interfacial magnetic anisotropy in a Pt/Co1-xFex /Pt multilayer is tuned by doping iron atoms into the cobalt layer.The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and out-of-plane coercivity are found to decrease with increasing x.For a specific x,the out-of-plane coercivity acquires a maximal value as a function of the thickness of the CoFe layer.At low temperature,the coercivity is enhanced.Small coercivity but reasonably large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be obtained by controlling the x and CoFe layer thickness.     

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.     

Defects mediated diffusion in Pt/Co/Pt multilayers induced by dense electronic excitations

Present study compares the effects of 200 MeV Ag¹⁵⁺ and 100 MeV O⁷⁺ ion irradiations on the structural, interfacial mixing and magnetic properties of annealed Pt/Co/Pt layers fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that ion irradiations coupled with post annealing results in the formation of the face centred tetragonal L1₀ CoPt phase. Irradiation using 200 MeV Ag¹⁵⁺ ions having higher ionizing energy transfer to the film was found to be more efficient in causing structural phase transition as compared with that using 100 MeV energy O⁷⁺ ions having lower ionizing energy transfer at similar fluence. Rutherford back scattering analysis reveals the role of defect mediated inter-atomic diffusion in tailoring the alloy composition of the film irradiated by different energetic ions. A broad magnetic switching field distribution for O⁷⁺ ion irradiated films compared to Ag¹⁵⁺ ion irradiation was evident from the magnetic measurements. The contribution of alloy composition to switching field distribution has been discussed in details. Above results showed that the electronic energy loss and fluence dependent defects, generated by irradiation, played an important role in tuning the structural, atomic diffusion and magnetic reversal properties of Pt/Co/Pt.     

Conditions for the Occurrence of Spontaneous Oscillating Magnetic Relaxation in Synthetic Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt Ferrimagnets

Physics of the Solid State - It has been established that nonmonotonic magnetization relaxation in Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt synthetic ferrimagnets (SF) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is caused by the...     

Pt/GdFeCo/Pt多层膜的磁性和反常霍尔效应研究

亚铁磁材料因具有反铁磁排列的子晶格磁矩而表现出诸多丰富的物理性质,在磁信息存储和逻辑领域具有广阔的应用前景.本文采用磁控溅射方法在热氧化的硅基片上制备了Pt/GdFeCo(t)/Pt多层膜,系统研究了亚铁磁GdFeCo厚度对多层膜的表面形貌、结构、磁性以及反常霍尔效应(AHE)的影响.结构测试表明薄膜表面粗糙度较小,且GdFeCo层为非晶态;实验中利用GdFeCo层厚度可有效控制Gd元素含量,从而调控GdFeCo趋近反铁磁态特性的磁矩补偿点;通过重金属强自旋轨道耦合效应(SOC)和非晶态亚铁磁薄膜面内压应力,实现了良好垂直各向异性(PMA);进一步阐明了亚铁磁薄膜中磁性和反常霍尔效应的内在产生机制以及磁矩补偿点与温度的内在关系.这些结果为构建新一代低功耗自旋电子器件奠定基础.     

Scaling properties of magnetic domain walls in Pt/Co/Pt trilayers on MgO (1 1 1)

We present a scaling analysis of the time evolution of domain walls in ultrathin magnetic films that are subject to different forms of uncorrelated and correlated disorder caused by the microstructure of the underlying template. The study is performed on ultrafine modulated Pt/Co/Pt trilayers grown on as-supplied and structured MgO (1 1 1) substrates employing polar Kerr microscopy for the imaging of the magnetic domains.     

Domain-wall pinning by local control of anisotropy in Pt/Co/Pt strips

We theoretically and experimentally analyze the pinning of a magnetic domain wall (DW) at engineered anisotropy variations in Pt/Co/Pt strips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. An analytical model is derived showing that a step in the anisotropy acts as an energy barrier for the DW. Quantitative measurements are performed showing that the anisotropy can be controlled by focused ion beam irradiation with Ga ions. This tool is used to experimentally study the field-induced switching of nanostrips which are locally irradiated. The boundary of the irradiated area indeed acts as a pinning barrier for the domain wall and the pinning strength increases with the anisotropy difference. Varying the thickness of the Co layer provides an additional way to tune the anisotropy, and it is shown that a thinner Co layer gives a higher starting anisotropy thereby allowing tunable DW pinning in a wider range of fields. Finally, we demonstrate that not only the anisotropy itself, but also the width of the anisotropy barrier can be tuned on the length scale of the domain wall.     

Generation of Nonequilibrium Nuclei of Magnetization in a Rapidly Increasing Magnetic Field in Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt Synthetic Ferrimagnets

Physics of the Solid State - In a Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt synthetic ferrimagnet with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, a stochastically appearing magnetization peak was found in the field dependence of the...     

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.     

Domain size and structure in exchange coupled [Co/Pt]/NiO/[Co/Pt] multilayers

We investigate the competing effects of interlayer exchange coupling and magnetostatic coupling in the magnetic heterostructure ([Co/Pt]/NiO/[Co/Pt]) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). This particular heterostructure is unique among coupled materials with PMA in directly exhibiting both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling, oscillating between the two as a function of spacer layer thickness. By systematically tuning the coupling interactions via a wedge-shaped NiO spacer layer, we explore the energetics that dictate magnetic domain formation using high resolution magnetic force microscopy coupled with the magneto-optical Kerr effect. This technique probes the microscopic and macroscopic magnetic behavior as a continuous function of thickness and the interlayer exchange coupling, including the regions where interlayer coupling goes through zero. We see significant changes in domain structure based on the sign of coupling, and also show that magnetic domain size is directly related to the magnitude of the interlayer exchange coupling energy, which generally dominates over the magnetostatic interactions. When magnetostatic interactions become comparable to the interlayer exchange coupling, a delicate interplay between the differing energy contributions is apparent and energy scales are extracted. The results are of intense interest to the magnetic recording industry and also illustrate a relatively new avenue of undiscovered physics, primarily dealing with the delicate balance of energies in the formation of magnetic domains for coupled systems with PMA, defining limits on domain size as well as the interplay between roughness, domains and magnetic coupling.     

Mössbauer studies of ultrathin Fe/Pt multilayers

Summary A series of ultrathin Fe/Pt multilayers, prepared by magnetron sputtering, were studied by CEMS and transmission MS. The Fe-layer thickness varied from 3 to 12.5 ? and that of Pt from 5 ? to 39 ?. The 3 ?/9 ? Pt sample displays magnetic hyperfine structure at RT, while the 3 Fe/19 Pt sample is paramagnetic at RT, demonstrating the effect of interlayer interaction. Both samples display out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy with 39° angle with respect to the vertical for the former and nearly 0° angle for the latter. The analysis of the spectra of samples with thickness larger than one monolayer of Fe is done with components assigned to individual Fe monolayers. In all these cases a component appears with a hyperfine field larger by ∼ 10% at RT and 17% at L.He than the corresponding values of α-Fe. This component is attributed to the first monolayer below the Fe/Pt interface in accordance with similar results in the Fe/Pd system and with theoretical predictions. Paper presented at ICAME-95, Rimini, 10–16, September 1995     

Structural and magnetic properties of Ni/Pt multilayers

In this work, the variation of the magnetic moments of the Ni/Pt multilayers are studied using the linearized augmented plane waves (LAPW) method in the framework of the density functional theory (DFT) implemented in the version of WIEN2K program. The systems have been modeled by seven layers slab separated in z direction by a vacuum region of four substrate layers. We present the results of the dependence of the magnetic properties with respect to the thickness variation of the different multilayers. The modeling of these systems finds an important empirical support. Experiment and theory show the same trends for the magnetic moments: hybridization effects between Ni and Pt are mostly localized at the interface.     

Magnetic anisotropy of multilayer [Fe/Pt]n structures

The possibility of controlling the magnetic anisotropy of multilayer [Fe/Pt]n structures grown by magnetron sputtering of Fe and Pt plates by varying number n of layers is studied. Mössbauer spectroscopy data and measured magnetic hysteresis loops demonstrate that the multilayer [Fe/Pt]n structures at n = 16 have a predominantly perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and micromagnetic simulation point to the presence of intermediate layers enriched in iron ions in the structures. The magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to the surface of the [Fe/Pt]n films at n = 16 is found to be caused by the anisotropy of the intermediate layers.