Element-specific magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy studied by transverse magnetic circular X-ray dichroism

The magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy in 3d transition metal systems is related to the spin-subband orbital moments and the magnetic dipole operator which accounts for the spin-flip excitations. Magnetic circular X-ray dichroism measurements in a transverse geometry, where the light helicity is perpendicular to the magnetization direction, make it feasible to determine the easy-axis of magnetization.     

Intersubband excitations in single-and double-layer electron systems in a parallel magnetic field

The spectrum of neutral intersubband excitations in single and double quantum wells has been studied by the inelastic light scattering method. It is shown that excitation energies in an external magnetic field have an anisotropic component proportional to the dipole moment of excitations along the growth axis of the quantum wells. Consequently, the measurement of excitation energy in a magnetic field makes it possible to experimentally estimate the quantitative measure of asymmetry of the quantum wells (dipole moment of the intersubband transition). In addition, a parallel magnetic field makes it possible to considerably extend the range of momenta studied since it shifts the dispersion curves in the momentum space by the value of the anisotropic component. A new method is proposed for determining the symmetry of double quantum wells. In asymmetric wells, intersubband excitations appear between the layers and have a large dipole moment along the growth axis. In symmetric wells, the magnetic field itself induces the dipole moment of intersubband excitations so that the excitation spectrum does not change upon magnetic field inversion. Analysis of energy anisotropy in intersubband excitations in double quantum wells makes it possible to determine the symmetry of double wells to a high degree of accuracy.     

Electrical resistivity due to electron scattering with magnetic domain walls and magnetic properties of Ni-Fe alloy thin films

The physical properties of magnetic domain walls and electrical conductivity of permalloy thin films under external magnetic fields were studied. Using a magnetic force microscope (MFM), we observed the variation of domain configurations with the change of applied magnetic field for different film thicknesses of 245, 320, and 415 nm. A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) was exploited to measure the magnetization loop for the applied magnetic field either parallel or perpendicular to the normal direction of the surface. We also found that the resistivity increases significantly as the electrical current conduction changed from parallel to perpendicular to the domain walls.     

Magnetic bloch electron states and spin polarization in 2D superlattices without an inversion center with Rashba spin-orbit interaction in an electron gas

The quantum states of carriers in 2D doubly periodic n-type semiconducting superlattices without spatial inversion symmetry in an external magnetic field are calculated in the one-electron approximation. It is shown that the spin-orbit interaction and spin splitting in the magnetic field may lead to the occurrence of the photovoltaic effect in a 2D electron gas without an inversion center and to a nonzero spin magnetization of the electron gas in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field.     

Magnetotransport in a graphene monolayer with two tunable magnetic barriers

The magnetotransport property for a monolayer graphene with two turnable magnetic barriers has been investigated by the transfer-matrix method. We show that the parameters of barrier height, width, and interval between two barriers affect the electron wave decaying length, which determine the conductance with parallel or antiparallel magnetization configuration, and consequently the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) for the system. Interestingly, a graphene attached by two barriers with different heights can produce a resonant TMR peak at low energy region one order of magnitude larger than that for the system with two same height barriers because that the asymmetry of magnetic barriers block the electron transmission in the case of antiparallel magnetization configuration. The results obtained here may be useful in understanding of electron tunneling in graphene and in designing of graphene-based nanodevices.     

Surface excitations in magnetic systems with a singlet ground state

We have investigated surface excitations in a system wherein the ionic ground state is a magnetic singlet. The pseudospin formalism is employed to account for the crystal-field and exchange interactions between the ions in a Heisenberg ferromagnet with the singlet-triplet crystal-field-only level scheme. The Hamiltonian was studied in the molecular field approximation to find the possible ground states. Surface excitations for the simple cubic structure were investigated for the (001) surface in the random phase approximation. Analytic expressions have been obtained for the thermodynamic Green functions. For a fully magnetized molecular field ground state, there are in general two bulk bands, the spin-wave and the excitonic. Surface modes were found to exist below the spin-wave band, above the excitonic band and between the bands. The dispersion curves can exist only over one or two limited regions of the two-dimensional wave-vector parallel to the crystal surface.     

Asymmetric domain nucleation and unusual magnetization reversal in ultrathin Co films with perpendicular anisotropy

We report unexpected phenomena during magnetization reversal in ultrathin Co films and Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy. Using magneto-optical Kerr microscopy and magnetic force microscopy we have observed asymmetrical nucleation centers where the reversal begins for one direction of the field only and is characterized by an acute asymmetry of domain-wall mobility. We have also observed magnetic domains with a continuously varying average magnetization, which can be explained in terms of the coexistence of three magnetic phases: up, down, and striped.     

Magnetization switching driven by spin-transfer-torque in high-TMR magnetic tunnel junctions

This paper presents a numerical study of magnetization switching driven by spin-polarized current in high-TMR magnetic tunnel junctions (TMR>100%). The current density distribution throughout the free-layer is computed dynamically, by modeling the ferromagnet/insulator/ferromagnet trilayer as a series of parallel resistances. The validity of the main hypothesis, which states that the current flows perpendicular to the sample plane, has been verified by numerically solving the Poisson equation. Our results show that the nonuniform current density distribution is a source of asymmetry to the switching process. Furthermore, we observe that the reversal mechanisms are characterized by well-defined localized pre-switching oscillation modes.     

Origin of the training effect and asymmetry of the magnetization in polycrystalline exchange bias systems

The training effect and asymmetry in exchange-coupled polycrystalline CoO/Co bilayers with in-plane magnetization has been investigated. This system is selected for its large training effect and initial asymmetry of the magnetic hysteresis after field cooling, which is removed after training. Applying an in-plane magnetic field perpendicular to the cooling field largely restores the untrained state with its pronounced asymmetry. The possibility to reinduce the asymmetry strongly depends on the magnitude of the perpendicular field, providing the key to identify the physical origin of training and removal of the asymmetry. These effects result from misalignment between the ferromagnetic magnetization and the uncompensated magnetization of the granular antiferromagnet.     

Magnetisation reversal in cylindrical nickel nanobars involving magnetic vortex structure: A micromagnetic study

A three-dimensional, Fast-Fourier-Transformed (3D-FFT) micromagnetic simulation was employed to study the magnetization reversal mechanisms in cylindrical nickel nanobars possessing magnetic vortices. Individual Ni nanobars of height 150–250 nm with aspect ratio varying from 2.1 to 2.5 were considered, all of them supporting magnetic vortices domains. Magnetization reversal in these nanobars involves the vortex-creation–annihilation (VCA) mechanism with an inversion symmetry feature observed mid-way during reversal process. The effect of incidence angle of externally applied field on overall magnetization reversal process is examined in detail. The corresponding variations in coercivity, squareness, exchange energy and vortex parameters are described by the micromagnetic study that can shed insights for building practical Ni nanobars magnetic nanostructures/devices.     

On the effect of an elastic shear stress upon the magnetization of ferromagnetic sheets

When an elastic shear stress and a cyclical magnetic field, parallel to each other, are applied in the plane of a ferromagnetic sheet, magnetization changes perpendicular to the field are induced in the sample. “Transverse” hysteresis loops, i.e. transverse magnetization plotted as a function of the longitudinal field, were studied in various materials. The characteristic shape of the loop and the differences in sign and magnitude of the “transverse” magnetization have been qualitatively explained in terms of magnetic domain theory. Work supported by G.N.S.M. (CNR).     

Anisotropy in elastic modulus of hydrogel containing magnetic particles

We derive the analytic expression of elastic modulus for a gel containing magnetic particles with a magnetic dipole moment. The obtained elastic modulus is anisotropic and the modulus increases and decreases with the density of magnetic particle when the direction of strain is perpendicular and parallel to the direction of magnetization, respectively. This behavior is qualitatively in good agreement with previous experimental data [T. Mitsumata, et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun. 23, (2002) 178].     

Magnetization distribution in magnetic films studied with Larmor-encoding

Additional information about the magnetization distribution in magnetic films is obtained with a 3D-polarimetry set-up. A pilot experiment was performed with the neutron polarization aligned perpendicular to the surface of a Fe-film in a magnetic field parallel to its surface. The Larmor-precession in the magnetic field between two current sheets was used to adjust the neutron polarization perpendicular to the sample surface. This new polarization-magnetization configuration was probed with a Fe-film in specular and off-specular scattering. The off-specular scattering is created by the magnetic domain structure of the Fe-film in remanence. The results of specular and off-specular scattering are reproduced by calculations for the configuration of the incoming neutron polarization parallel to the sample surface and the magnetic field and for the configuration of the incoming neutron polarization perpendicular to the sample surface and the magnetic field.     

Origin of second-order transverse magnetic anisotropy in Mn12-acetate

The symmetry breaking effects for quantum tunneling of the magnetization in Mn12-acetate, a molecular nanomagnet, represent an open problem. We present structural evidence that the disorder of the acetic acid of crystallization induces sizable distortion of the Mn(III) sites, giving rise to six different isomers. Four isomers have symmetry lower than tetragonal and a nonzero second-order transverse magnetic anisotropy, which has been evaluated using a ligand field approach. The result of the calculation leads to an improved simulation of electron paramagnetic resonance spectra and justifies the tunnel splitting distribution derived from the field sweep rate dependence of the hysteresis loops.     

Observation of magnetic ripple and nanowidth domains in a layered ferromagnet

We investigated ferromagnetic domain structures on nanometer to micrometer scale for single crystals of a layered ferromagnet, La(2-2x)Sr(1+2x)Mn2O7 (0.32 < or = x < or = 0.40), as functions of x and temperature by means of Lorentz electron microscopy. We have succeeded in observing the evolution of magnetic ripple structure, dynamically, related to a spin reorientation transition where the magnetization direction switches between parallel and perpendicular to the layers. Our high-resolution magnetic domain imaging revealed that the ripple state is characterized by the evolution of magnetic nanowidth domains.     

Ferromagnetic resonance of magnetic field oriented Fe3O4 nanoparticles in frozen ferrofluids

Measurements of the orientational dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra are made on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in ferrofluids solidified in dc magnetic fields. The in field solidification locks the direction of magnetization parallel to the direction of the cooling field enabling measurements as a function of orientation with respect to the direction of magnetization in the frozen state. The g value of the FMR spectra at 77 K is 2.16 and the anisotropy constant is −1.23 J/m³. A marked reduction of the difference between the field position in the parallel and perpendicular orientation onsets on warming to 140 K well below the melting temperature of the fluid carrier and is attributed to the onset of fluctuations in the direction of the magnetization in the solid phase. The phase transition of the magnetic symmetry observed in bulk Fe₃O₄ occurs at much lower temperature in the nanoparticles.     

In plane to out of plane magnetic reorientation transition in partially ordered FePd thin films

It is demonstrated that perpendicular magnetic anisotropy may be obtained with a room temperature growth process in ordered (FePd) alloys. Indeed, using atomic layer by atomic layer epitaxy, a partial chemical ordering into the L1₀ structure is obtained, with a corresponding intermediate perpendicular anisotropy (). These samples provide an appropriate template for the study of the magnetic reorientation from in plane to out of plane magnetization upon layer's thickness increase. VSM, transverse Kerr measurements and magnetic force microscopy have been used in order to determine the relevant magnetic parameters and the occurrence of the reorientation transition. Received 13 October 1998 and Received in final form 5 February 1999     

Magnetoresistance of an asymmetric quantum-size structure in a parallel magnetic field: Field asymmetry independent of the current direction

A new phenomenon, viz., field-asymmetric transverse magnetoresistance of a doped asymmetric quantum-size structure discovered in a magnetic field parallel to the heteroboundary planes, is studied experimentally and theoretically. The magnetoresistance asymmetry relative to the field direction, which is independent of the direction of transport current, is observed when a lateral electric field is embedded in the structure with the help of alloyed metallic contacts. In the theoretical part of the paper, it is shown that the contribution to current, which is asymmetric in the magnetic field, can be consistently described in the framework of the theory of spontaneous current states and photovoltaic effect in systems without an inversion center; the reason behind the emergence of this current is associated with the asymmetry of the energy spectrum of charge carriers relative to the quasimomentum. It is shown that the change in the size and shape of Fermi contours in a magnetic field determines the magnitude of the strong negative magnetoresistance associated with the intersubband scattering under investigation and is found to be responsible for the emergence of a qualitatively new effect mentioned in the title of this paper.     

Asymmetric reversal in inhomogeneous magnetic heterostructures

Asymmetric magnetization reversal is an unusual phenomenon in antiferromagnet/ferromagnet (AF/FM) exchange biased bilayers. We investigated this phenomenon in a simple model system experimentally and by simulation assuming inhomogeneously distributed interfacial AF moments. The results suggest that the observed asymmetry originates from the intrinsic broken symmetry of the system, which results in local incomplete domain walls parallel to the interface in reversal to negative saturation of the FM. The magneto-optical Kerr effect unambiguously confirms such an asymmetric reversal and a depth-dependent FM domain wall in accord with the magnetometry and simulations.     

Pattern formation in a complex plasma in high magnetic fields

Low-pressure room-temperature neon, argon, krypton, and air plasmas were studied in magnetic fields up to flux densities of 2.3 T. Filaments appeared parallel to the magnetic field lines, and patterns such as spirals and concentric circles formed in the perpendicular direction. We link these effects to the magnetization of the ions. We also used a layer of embedded microparticles as probes in the plasma. Their motion changed dramatically from a collective rotation of the whole ensemble in moderate magnetic fields to a rotation in several small vortices centered at the filaments.