SPIN-DEPENDENT TUNNELING EFFECTS ON MAGNETIC NANOSTRUCTURES

The contrast mechanism of spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy (SP-STS) is demontrated on in-plane magnetized Gd islands grown on W (110) using Fe-coated tips. The use of Gd-coated tips enables the imaging of the antiferromagnetic domain structure of Fe nanowires being perpendicularly magnetized grown on a stepped W(110) substrate. The influence of an external magnetic field on the nanowire domain structure is demonstrated. It is shown that the antiferromagnetic domain structure of the Fe nanowires strongly depends on the miscut of the W(110) substrate. While at high miscut the magnetization direction alternates between adjacent DL stripes it was found to alternate within single Fe DL stripes at low miscut. Nanoscale Fe islands with a height of two atomic layers were found to be single domain particles.     

Growth and magnetism of Fe on Cr(001): a spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy and magnetic force microscopy study

The growth and magnetic domain structure of Fe nanoislands and films on Cr(001) are investigated by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Topographic images of films grown at different substrate temperatures reveal that the highest film quality is obtained by evaporation at room temperature and subsequent annealing at 500 K for 4 min. Spin-resolved studies of the magnetic structure of submonolayer Fe films (coverage 0.2 ML) show the expected antiferromagnetic Fe–Cr coupling, i.e. any Fe island is magnetized antiparallel with respect to the underlying Cr(001) terrace. As the Fe coverage exceeds 0.2 ML the magnetic contrast decreases and completely vanishes for 0.4 ML. Only for 3 ML does a weak magnetic contrast reappear, which is interpreted in terms of a small spatial variation of the 90° coupling between the Cr substrate and the Fe overlayer. MFM reveals that the number of visible domain walls decreases with increasing film thickness and completely vanishes at 12 ML. PACS 68.55.-a; 75.60.Ch; 68.37.Ef     

Coupling in Fe(2 ML)/V(y ML) and Fe(2 ML)/V(y ML)/Fe(3 ML)/V(y ML) (y ≥ 4) superlattices

Fe(2 ML)/V(y ML) and interleaved Fe(2 ML)/V(y ML)/Fe(3 ML)/V(y ML) superlattice systems with spacer thicknesses, y, (4 ≤ y ≤ 17) were investigated macro-magnetically to estimate the coupling strength and the magnetoresistance in these materials, and particularly in the antiferromagnetically coupled monolayers. The results from the magnetic and magnetoresistive measurements indicate that adding one monolayer of Fe increases the antiferromagnetic coupling and the magnetoresistivity ratio from 0.0075 mJ/m² at 20 K and 2 % at 10 K for Fe(2 ML)/V(y ML), to 0.05 mJ/m² and 2.5 % for Fe(2 ML)/V(y ML)/Fe(3 ML)/V(y ML) at the same temperatures. Both systems exhibit in-plane magnetic and magnetoresistive isotropy, therefore the increase of the conferred physical parameters is attributed mainly to the stresses at the interface as governing mechanisms over the magnetoelastic forces.      

Mössbauer studies of spin wave excitations in Fe/Ag multilayers

The magnetic properties of molecular beam epitaxially (MBE) grown FE(110)/Ag(111) heterostructures were investigated with Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Fe bilayers were fixed at 3 ML (monolayer) thickness and the Ag bilayer thickness varied from 4 ML to 20 ML. We found that as the Ag layer became thick enough (>17 ML) to magnetically isolate the Fe layers, a quasi-linear temperature dependence of the hyperfine field results due to the 2-D spin wave excitations. As the Ag layer is reduced, a dimensional crossover in the excitations is induced by the magnetic interaction between Fe layers which makesM(T) change from a two-dimensionalT relation to a three-dimensionalT ^3/2 dependence. We constructed a simple theoretical model to motivate the explanation for the experimental results and obtained approximate values for the interlayer coupling strength for various Ag bilayer thicknesses.     

Layer magnetization canting in 57Fe/FeSi multilayer observed by synchrotron Mössbauer reflectometry

Synchrotron Mössbauer reflectometry and CEMS results on a [⁵⁷Fe(2.55 nm)/FeSi\break(1.57 nm)]₁₀ multilayer (ML) on a Zerodur substrate are reported. CEMS spectra are satisfactorily fitted by α‐Fe and an interface layer of random α‐(Fe, Si) alloy of 20% of the ⁵⁷Fe layer thickness on both sides of the individual Fe layers. Kerr loops show a fully compensated AF magnetic layer structure. Prompt X‐ray reflectivity curves show the structural ML Bragg peak and Kiessig oscillations corresponding to a bilayer period and total film thickness of 4.12 and 41.2 nm, respectively. Grazing incidence nuclear resonant Θ–2Θ scans and time spectra (E = 14.413 keV, λ = 0.0860 nm) were recorded in different external magnetic fields (0 < B^ext < 0.95 T) perpendicular to the scattering plane. The time integral delayed nuclear Θ–2Θ scans reveal the magnetic ML period doubling. With increasing transversal external magnetic field, the antiferromagnetic ML Bragg peak disappears due to Fe layer magnetization canting, the extent of which is calculated from the fit of the time spectra and the Θ–2Θ scans using an optical approach. In a weak external field the Fe layer magnetization directions are neither parallel with nor perpendicular to the external field. We suggest that the interlayer coupling in [Fe/FeSi]₁₀ varies with the distance from the substrate and the ML consists of two magnetically distinct regions, being of ferromagnetic character near substrate and antiferromagnetic closer to the surface.     

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy on Fe nanowires

The contrast mechanism in spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy (SP-STS) is demonstrated on perpendicularly magnetized Fe nanowires grown on stepped W (110). By using Gd-coated tips, the antiferromagnetic domain structure of the nanowires can be imaged. The influence of an external magnetic field on the nanowire domain structure is demonstrated. It is shown that the antiferromagnetic domain structure of the Fe nanowires depends strongly on the miscut of the W (110) substrate. At high miscut the magnetization alternates between adjacent stripes, whereas at low miscut it alternates within the individual stripes.     

Tunable in-plane spin orientation in Fe/Si(557) film by step-induced competing magnetic anisotropies

Although the spin-reorientation transition from out-of-plane to in-plane in Fe/Si film is widely reported, the tuning of in-plane spin orientation is not yet well developed. Here, we report the thickness-, temperature- and Cu-adsorptioninduced in-plane spin-reorientation transition processes in Fe/Si(557) film, which can be attributed to the coexistence of two competing step-induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropies, i.e., surface magnetic anisotropy with magnetization easy axis perpendicular to the step and volume magnetic anisotropy with magnetization easy axis parallel to the step. For Fe film thickness smaller than 32 monolayer(ML), the magnitudes of two effects under various temperatures are extracted from the thickness dependence of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. For Fe film thickness larger than 32 ML, the deviation of experimental results from fitting results is understood by the strain-relief-induced reduction of volume magnetic anisotropy.Additionally, the surface and volume magnetic anisotropies are both greatly reduced after covering Cu capping layer on Fe/Si(557) film while no significant influence of Na Cl capping layer on step-induced magnetic anisotropies is observed.The experimental results reported here provide various practical methods for manipulating in-plane spin orientation of Fe/Si films and improve the understanding of step-induced magnetic anisotropies.     

The coupling of Cr to Fe studied by circular magnetic X-ray dichroism

The coupling of Cr to Fe in stacked Cr/Fe/Cr trilayers is studied by circular magnetic X-ray dichroism using fluorescence yield to monitor the absorption. From the dichroic spectra, we determine the thickness dependent average magnetic coupling of Cr to Fe for Cr layer thicknesses of 1, 2 and 3 ML. We compare our results to new calculated spectra. Additionally, all Cr spectra show significant contributions due to photon scattering processes at theL _{2, 3} absorption edges depending on the degree of circular polarization.     

Domain wall dynamics driven by spin transfer torque and the spin-orbit field

We have studied current-driven dynamics of domain walls when an in-plane magnetic field is present in perpendicularly magnetized nanowires using an analytical model and micromagnetic simulations. We model an experimentally studied system, ultrathin magnetic nanowires with perpendicular anisotropy, where an effective in-plane magnetic field is developed when current is passed along the nanowire due to the Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling. Using a one-dimensional model of a domain wall together with micromagnetic simulations, we show that the existence of such in-plane magnetic fields can either lower or raise the threshold current needed to cause domain wall motion. In the presence of the in-plane field, the threshold current differs for positive and negative currents for a given wall chirality, and the wall motion becomes sensitive to out-of-plane magnetic fields. We show that large non-adiabatic spin torque can counteract the effect of the in-plane field.     

Correlation between ferromagnetic state and thermally stable layer of Fe on the W(001) surface

The variations of electronic and magnetic properties of ultrathin Fe overlayers on a W(001) surface as a function of Fe film thickness (1.0–4.0 ML) has been investigated using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) in conjunction with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). We found that the ferromagnetic property of Fe film started to build up over 2.0 ML, as we confirmed the spin and angular moment contribution to the magnetic moment using XMCD experiments. We also confirmed that a thermally stable layer is over 2.0 ML of Fe film as we change the annealing temperature taken after Fe deposition at 300 K and at 400 K using UPS. We will systematically demonstrate that the occurrence of ferromagnetic property of Fe film on a W(001) surface is closely correlated to a thermally stable layer of Fe film on a W(001) surface.     

The increase of the spin-transfer torque threshold current density in coupled vortex domain walls

We have studied the dependence on the domain wall structure of the spin-transfer torque current density threshold for the onset of wall motion in curved, Gd-doped Ni(80)Fe(20) nanowires with no artificial pinning potentials. For single vortex domain walls, for both 10% and 1% Gd-doping concentrations, the threshold current density is inversely proportional to the wire width and significantly lower compared to the threshold current density measured for transverse domain walls. On the other hand for high Gd concentrations and large wire widths, double vortex domain walls are formed which require an increase in the threshold current density compared to single vortex domain walls at the same wire width. We suggest that this is due to the coupling of the vortex cores, which are of opposite chirality, and hence will be acted on by opposing forces arising through the spin-transfer torque effect.     

Fen/Crn超晶格磁性和电子结构的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函原理的全势线性缀加平面波方法(FLAPW),计算了超晶格Fen/Crn(n=1,3,5)的电子结构和磁性,结果表明铁磁耦合状态是基态,铁层的磁矩由于铬层的加入而有一些变化,铁层的磁矩随着n的增大而逐渐增强.铬层的磁矩的方向是正负相间变化的,相邻的铁层和铬层之间是反铁磁性耦合的,铁原子的d轨道和铬原子的d轨道在费米能附近有中等程度的杂化.     

自旋转向相变中的条纹磁畴研究

用光激发电子显微镜研究了Fe／Ni铁磁膜和Co／Cu／Fe／Ni磁耦合膜中的条纹磁畴．实验发现：在Fe／Ni体系中，条纹磁畴宽度随着铁层厚度趋近于自旋转向相变点呈指数下降；在Co／Cu／Fe／Ni体系中，Fe／M层中的条纹磁畴会沿着钴层磁矩的方向排列，其磁畴宽度会随着Co-Fe／Ni间的层间耦合强度呈指数下降．理论上推导出条纹磁畴随着磁各向异性能和层间耦合强度变化的统一公式，而实验结果与理论符合得非常好。     

Magnetic stripe domains in coupled magnetic sandwiches

Magnetic stripe domains in the spin reorientation transition region are investigated in (Fe/Ni)/Cu(001) and Co/Cu/(Fe/Ni)/Cu(001) using photoemission electron microscopy. For (Fe/Ni)/Cu(001), the stripe domain width decreases exponentially as the Fe/Ni film approaches the spin reorientation transition point. For Co/Cu/(Fe/Ni)/Cu(001), the Fe/Ni stripe orientation is aligned with the Co in-plane magnetization, and the stripe domain width decreases exponentially with increasing the interlayer coupling between the Fe/Ni and Co films. By considering magnetic stripes within an in-plane magnetic field, we reveal a universal dependence of the stripe domain width on the magnetic anisotropy and on the interlayer coupling.     

Structural,electronic and magnetic properties of Fe(1−x)Cox alloy nanowires encapsulated inside (10,0) boron nitride nanotube

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Fe–Co alloy nanowires encapsulated inside zigzag (10,0) boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) are investigated by ab initio calculations. Similar to pristine nanotube, the opposite directional relaxations for the N atoms (move outwards) and B atoms (move inwards) from their initial positions are observed for outside BNNT although with the Fe–Co alloy nanowires inside, but the outward relaxations of the N atoms bonding to the Fe or Co atoms are smaller due to their attractions. The combining processes of Fe–Co/BNNT composites are endothermic when Co concentration x≤0.6 and exothermic x>0.6, and the most stable Fe–Co/BNNT composite is at Co concentration x=0.8. So the semiconducting (10,0) BNNT can be used to shield the Co-rich Fe–Co nanowires. The charges are transferred from Fe–Co nanowires to BNNT and the formed Co–N bonds have covalent bond as well as slight ionic bond characters. Although (10,0) BNNT is nonmagnetic and a decrease in the magnetic moment is found after Fe–Co nanowires are encapsulated inside (10,0) BNNT, the Fe–Co/BNNT composites still have large magnetic moment, reflecting they can be utilized in magnetic storage and ultra high-density magnetic recording devices.     

电化学沉积Fe与FePd纳米线阵列的磁性

利用电化学沉积方法在氧化铝模板中制备了一维Fe和Fe_095Pd_{0 05}合金纳米线阵列.两种样品均有(110)晶向择优取向，纳米线直径为60nm.在这一直径下形状各向异性 和内禀晶体各向异性的竞争结果很适合考察Pd掺杂的磁性行为.研究发现在FePd纳米线中， 由于极少量Pd在Fe中的合金化，减弱了晶体各向异性与形状各向异性的影响，改变了磁畴结 构，增强了畴壁钉扎作用，结果在Fe_095Pd_005纳米线 中便显示出强烈的沿线方向的各向异性，方形度和矫顽力也有较大改善. 关键词： 纳米线 电化学沉积 磁性     

超薄Fe层在反铁磁NiO(001)面上沉积的研究

通过分子束外延(MBE)和脉冲激光沉积(PLD)方法，将1—10个Fe原子层(ML)以楔形方式沉积到反铁磁单晶NiO(001)基片上.表面磁光克尔效应的原位测试结果表明：通过MBE沉积的Fe原子层在Fe/NiO界面处产生了约2ML的磁死层；而通过PLD沉积的Fe原子层在Fe/NiO界面处产生了约3ML的磁死层.X射线光电子能谱对Fe/NiO界面进行研究的结果表明，在Fe原子与单晶NiO间发生了界面化学反应. 关键词： 磁性薄膜 表面磁性 X射线光电子能谱     

Direct observation of a bulklike spin moment at the Fe/GaAs(100)-4x6 interface

We have used x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, which offers a unique capability to give element specific information at submonolayer sensitivity, to determine the spin and orbital magnetic moments at the Fe/GaAs(100) interface. The wedge samples, grown by molecular beam epitaxy at room temperature, consisted of 0.25-1 monolayer (ML) Fe on GaAs(100)-4x6 capped with 9 ML Co and have shown Fe spin moments of (1.84-1.96)micro(B) and a large orbital enhancement. Our results demonstrate unambiguously that the Fe/GaAs(100)-4x6 interface is ferromagnetic with a bulklike spin moment, which is highly promising for spintronics applications.     

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin FeCo alloy films on Pd(0 0 1) surface: First principles study

Using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method, thickness dependent magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin FeCo alloy films in the range of 1 monolayer (ML) to 5 ML coverage on Pd(0 0 1) surface has been explored. We have found that the FeCo alloy films have close to half metallic state and well-known surface enhancement in thin film magnetism is observed in Fe atom, whereas the Co has rather stable magnetic moment. However, the largest magnetic moment in Fe and Co is found at 1 ML thickness. Interestingly, it has been observed that the interface magnetic moments of Fe and Co are almost the same as those of surface elements. The similar trend exists in orbital magnetic moment. This indicates that the strong hybridization between interface FeCo alloy and Pd gives rise to the large magnetic moment. Theoretically calculated magnetic anisotropy shows that the 1 ML FeCo alloy has in-plane magnetization, but the spin reorientation transition (SRT) from in-plane to perpendicular magnetization is observed above 2 ML thickness with huge magnetic anisotropy energy. The maximum magnetic anisotropy energy for perpendicular magnetization is as large as 0.3 meV/atom at 3 ML film thickness with saturation magnetization of . Besides, the calculated X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) has been presented.     

Domain wall orientation in magnetic nanowires

Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals that domain walls in ultrathin Fe nanowires are oriented along a certain crystallographic direction, regardless of the orientation of the wires. Monte Carlo simulations on a discrete lattice are in accordance with the experiment if the film relaxation is taken into account. We demonstrate that the wall orientation is determined by the atomic lattice and the resulting strength of an effective exchange interaction. The magnetic anisotropy and the magnetostatic energy play a minor role for the wall orientation in that system.