Low-temperature properties of ferromagnetic Fibonacci superlattices

Theoretical analysis of the layered quasi-periodic Fibonacci structures (superlattices-sequence) is presented for the systems consisting of n_A and n_B ferromagnetically ordered planes within the layers with S_a and S_b spins, respectively, while the interfaces are coupled with bilinear and/or biquadratic exchange interaction, within the framework of localized spin model in the low-temperature limit. Transfer matrix method and direct diagonalization after the bosonization in Bloch's approximation resulted both in the same analytical expression for the magnon-excitation energy. The equivalence (at low-temperatures) of the transfer matrix (spin) and boson approach was discussed, as well as the role of the interlayer biquadratic coupling between different blocks constituting the Fibonacci sequences. Also, our approach allows the determination of the internal energy and calculation of the magnon contribution to the specific heat. It was clearly demonstrated that the magnon specific heat vanishes for T → 0. Our results are compared with the results of other authors.     

Superconducting properties of V/Fe superlattices

We report measurements on the superconducting properties of V/Fe superlattices with various layer thicknesses. These samples were prepared with a novel UHV evaporator which can produce up to twenty different samples in the same run. The Fe layer, a strong pair breaker, suppresses the superconducting transition temperature in a systematic way. When the V layer thickness is on the order of the BCS coherence length and the Fe layer is only a few atomic planes thick, a 2D–3D crossover has been observed in the temperature dependence of the parallel upper critical field H_C2∥. This implies the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetismm. We observe three dimensional behavior for thinner Fe layers (～1 atomic plane) and two dimensional behavior for thicker Fe layers (greater than 10 atomic planes).     

Superconducting properties and structure of ion bombarded Nb layers

The influence of ion bombardment on the superconducting transition temperature T_c and the structure of thin evaporated niobium layers has been investigated as a function of ion species and layer purity. Irradiation through pure layers with neon ions and fluences of typically 1016 ions/cm² leads to relatively small T_c decreases (δT_c × 0.5 K), while in oxygen contaminated layers larger effects depending on oxygen concentration are observed. Homogeneous implantation of chemically active impurities (nitrogen, oxygen) also drastically depresses T_c reaching the detection limit of 1.2K at a concentration of 15 at. %N. The T_c depressions correlate with a lattice parameter expansion of the Nb bcc structure at a rate of about 0.1 %per 1 at. % impurity.     

Critical phenomena in ferromagnetic superlattices

Within the framework of the high-temperature series expansions technique, we examine the phase transition and the critical phenomena of a two-component superlattice with simple cubic structure, through three models: Ising, XY and Heisenberg. The reduced critical temperature of the system is studied as a function of the thickness of the constituents and the exchange interactions in each material, and within the interface. We show the existence of a critical thickness of the unit cell at which the reduced critical temperature of the binary superlattice remains insensitive to the exchange coupling within the interfaces. The values of the effective critical exponent γ _eff associated with the magnetic susceptibility agreed with the universal classes in the limit cases where the superlattice is still comparable to an infinite simple cubic lattice. We attribute the breakdown in the universality hypothesis to the crossover effects.     

Superconducting bloch-wall in ferromagnetic superconductors

It is shown that the region inside the Bloch-wall in the ferromagnetic state of magnetic superconductors becomes superconductive under some conditions. This fact is consistent with the experimental resistance measurements obtained in the ferromagnetic state of ErRh₄B₄.     

Superconducting behaviour of Nb/Co superlattices

We study the superconducting and magnetic behaviour of Nb/Co superlattices, for superconducting Nb layer thickness of 44 nm and Co layer thickness less than 1 nm. In this limit no ferromagnetism is observed for Co. The superlattice behaves as independent superconducting Nb layers. We obtain the penetration depth and superconducting gap of the material, and analyze the results in terms of microscopic models and theories.     

Spin-wave susceptibility of partially randomized ferromagnetic superlattices

This paper is a theoretical investigation of the effect of inhomogeneities in the period of a ferromagnetic superlattice on the high-frequency superlattice susceptibility. The calculations are done for a model in which the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy is taken as the physical parameter that characterizes both the ideal superlattice and a partially randomized superlattice. It is found that as the inhomogeneities become more intense, the two resonance peaks corresponding to the splitting of the spectrum at the edge of the Brillouin zone of the superlattice broaden, move closer to each other, and finally merge into one. The height of this peak increases and the peak width decreases as the intensity of the inhomogeneities increases further. The effect of inhomogeneities on the susceptibility differs dramatically in the two limits of short-and long-wave inhomogeneities: in the latter case (in contrast to the former) the dependence of the separation of the susceptibility peaks on the intensity and correlation properties of the inhomogeneities is nonmonotonic. The possibility of observing these effects in spin-wave resonance experiments involving multilayer magnetic films is also discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1335–1345 (October 1999)     

Superconducting decay length in a ferromagnetic metal

The complex decay length ξ characterizing the penetration of superconducting correlations into a ferromagnet due to the proximity effect is studied theoretically in the framework of the linearized Eilenberger equations. The real part ξ₁ and imaginary part ξ₂ of the decay length are calculated as functions of exchange energy and the rates of ordinary, spin-flip, and spin-orbit electronic scattering in a ferromagnet. The lengths ξ_1,2 determine the spatial scales of, respectively, the decay and oscillation of a critical current in SFS Josephson junctions in the limit of a large distance between superconducting electrodes. The developed theory provides the criteria of applicability of the expressions for ξ₁ and ξ₂ in the dirty and clean limits, which are commonly used in the analysis of SF hybrid structures. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Homoepitaxial superlattices with nonoriented barrier layers

Stimulation possibilities of epitaxial film growth on amorphous and polycrystal layers covering the surface of the orienting substrate are shown. Multilayer periodical structures of superthin (L < 100 Å) single-crystal InSb or PbTe films alternating with nonoriented GaAs, C or Ge layers have been obtained and investigated.     

Interdiffusion of layers in PbSe-PbS epitaxial superlattices

X-ray diffraction methods are used to investigate the diffusional mixing of layers in PbSe-PbS superlattices. The interdiffusion coefficients of the layers are determined from the change in the intensity of satellite reflections. Two stages of diffusion are observed — fast (at the initial stages of anneals) and slow. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 9, 685–687 (10 November 1998)     

Superconducting pi qubit with a ferromagnetic Josephson junction

Solid-state qubits have the potential for the large-scale integration and for the flexibility of layout for quantum computing. However, their short decoherence time due to the coupling to the environment remains an important problem to be overcome. We propose a new superconducting qubit which incorporates a spin-electronic device: the qubit consists of a superconducting ring with a ferromagnetic pi junction which has a metallic contact and a normal Josephson junction with an insulating barrier. Thus, a quantum coherent two-level state is formed without an external magnetic field. This feature and the simple structure of the qubit make it possible to reduce its size leading to a long decoherence time.     

Domain-wall induced coupling between ferromagnetic layers

The remanent magnetization of a hard ferromagnetic CoPtCr layer is progressively decreased by repeated switching of a neighboring soft magnetic layer. We show that this effect depends strongly on the thickness of the CoPtCr layer and the spacing between the hard and soft layers. We propose a model that accounts for these results: An interlayer magnetostatic coupling is induced by large stray fields from domain walls that form within the soft layer during its magnetization reversal.     

Gapless-excitation induced resistivity in ferromagnetic layers

Magnetic domains in a two-dimensional ferromagnetic metal and the existence of gapless magnons confined along the domain walls are studied starting from the XXZ model for localized spins. The relevance for transport properties of the inelastic interaction between conduction electrons and the localized magnons is analysed, and conductivity calculations presented.     

Superconducting and magnetic properties of Nb/Pd 1-xFex/Nb triple layers

The superconducting and magnetic properties of Nb/Pd_1-xFe_x/Nb triple layers with constant Nb layer thickness d_Nb=200 ? and different interlayer thicknesses 3 ?≤ d_PdFe ≤ ? are investigated. The thickness dependence of the magnetization and of the superconducting transition temperature shows that for small iron concentration x the Pd_1-xFe_x layer is likely to be in the paramagnetic state for very thin films whereas ferromagnetic order is established for x ≥ 0.13. The parallel critical field B_c2||(T){B_{c2||}}(T) exhibits a transition from two-dimensional (2D) behavior where the Nb films are coupled across the interlayer, towards a 2D behavior of decoupled Nb films with increasing d_PdFeand/or x. This transition allows a determination of the penetration depth x_F{\xi _F} of Cooper pairs into the Pd_1-xFe_x layer as a function of x. For samples with a ferromagnetic interlayer x_F{\xi _F} is found to be independent of x.     

Optical magnetoelectric effect of patterned oxide superlattices with ferromagnetic interfaces

Nonreciprocal directional dichroism, termed the optical magnetoelectric (OME) effect, has been observed in patterned superlattice (SL) composed of perovskite oxides, LaMnO3, SrMnO3, and LaAlO3. Such a tricolor SL with ferromagnetic interfaces is expected to artificially break both space-inversion and time-reversal symmetries and hence to show the OME effect. The Bragg diffraction from the grating structure with a period of 4 microm fabricated on the SL was employed to sensitively detect the OME effect, yielding the relative change of the diffracted light intensity (~0.2%-0.5%) upon a reversal of either the in-plane magnetization or the propagation vector of the diffracted light.     

High-frequency properties of Fe/Cr superlattices with thin Cr layers in the millimeter-wavelength range

Microwave properties of Fe/Cr multilayer nanostructures with thin chromium layers (with thickness t _Cr < 1 nm) are analyzed. Experiments are performed by the method of penetration of microwaves in the frequency range from 26 to 38 GHz. The dependence of the transmission coefficient for microwaves on the constant magnetic field strength exhibits the microwave magnetoresistive effect and magnetic resonance. The resonance spectrum is reconstructed from measurements at various frequencies. The results of microwave measurements are analyzed together with the results of magnetic and magnetoresistive measurements.     

Electro-optical properties of superlattices

In the long-wavelength approximation, the dependence of electro-optical properties of superlattices on the mutual orientation of crystallographic axes forming the layer structure is studied. It is shown that electrooptical crystals can be used as a base for the production of layered periodic structures that are insensitive to the external electric action. The conditions for obtaining superlattices with a high electro-optical efficiency are found. The results of a numerical simulation can be used for the production of high-efficiency electro-optical materials with optimum parameters, which are required for the development of information transfer systems.