Induced moment due to perpendicular field cycling in trained exchange bias system

Depth-sensitive polarized neutron scattering in specular and off-specular mode has recently revealed that perpendicular field cycling brings about a modification in the interfacial magnetization of a trained exchange coupled interface. We show here by various model fits to our neutron reflectivity data that a restoration of the untrained state is not possible in the case of our polycrystalline multilayer specimen. This is due a magnetic moment at the interface induced only after perpendicular field cycling, changing the initial field-cooled state.     

Grazing incidence polarized neutron scattering in reflection geometry from nanolayered spintronic systems

This review summarizes recent experimental investigations using neutron scattering on layered nanomagnetic systems (accentuating my contribution), which have applications in spintronics also. Polarized neutron investigations of such artificially structured materials are basically done to understand the interplay between structure and magnetism confined within the nanometer scale that can be additionally depth-resolved. Details of the identification of buried domains and their nature of lateral and vertical correlations within the systems are important. A particularly interesting aspect that has emerged over the years is the capability to measure polarized neutron scattering in directions parallel and perpendicular to the applied field direction (which is also the quantization axis for neutron polarizations). This was added with the capability of measuring in specular as well as in off-specular geometry. Distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) theory for neutrons has proved to be a remarkable development in the quantitative analysis of the scattering data measured simultaneously for specular and off-specular modes within the same framework. In particular, the depth and lateral distribution of the ferromagnetic spins relative to the interface within interlayer-coupled or exchange-coupled system has been extensive. For example, twisted magnetization state at interlayer coupled interfaces or intricacies of symmetric and asymmetric magnetization reversals along with suppression of training effect in exchange coupled system was microscopically identified using neutron scattering only. The investigation on the distribution of magnetic species within dilute ferromagnetic semiconductor superlattices, with low angle neutron scattering, has played a crucial role both from practical and fundamental research points of view.     

Analysis of the magnetic domain structure of electrodeposited nickel studied by neutron depolarization

A polarized monochromatic neutron beam is transmitted through a nickel sheet which has been electrodeposited onto a copper backing. The polarization direction of the incoming beam may be adjusted in three orthogonal directions, while the polarization after transmission through the sample can be analyzed in three independent directions. In this way a (3×3) depolarization matrix can be determined, of which the diagonal elements give the depolarization factors in the successive directions. At zero applied magnetic field and perpendicular transmission no depolarization is observed when the polarization vector is perpendicular to the sheet. The depolarization factors in the other two directions nearly follow a cosine dependence on the neutron wavelength. A structure consisting of domains with magnetization directions perpendicular to the sheet could explain the results. By varying the angle of transmission of the neutron beam with respect to the plane of the sheet one can determine the mean domain size and to some extent the nature of the distribution function of the domain size in the plane of the sheet. In addition, the depolarization has been studied as a function of a magnetic field applied in a direction in the plane of the sheet. The results are compared with magnetization measurements performed in a magnetic field applied in the same direction.     

Highlights from the magnetism reflectometer at the SNS

The magnetism reflectometer at the SNS has passed the phase of commissioning and is in operation for users. The high power of the neutron source demands that special attention be paid to the optimization of the background in order to be able to measure the two-dimensional maps of reflected and scattered intensities with polarized neutrons in a broad range of momentum transfer. It implies an effective separation of the magnetic and non-magnetic reflectivity, off-specular scattering and the grazing incidence SANS in a high range of momentum transfer. Therefore the polarizing and the analyzing efficiencies are of particular importance on this time-of-flight instrument. At the beginning of July 2008 the world's first ³He neutron analyzer with on-line pump-up polarization was successfully installed and the tests with a magnetic multilayer film showing a strong off-specular spin-flip scattering were made. The performance of the instrument is under constant improvement in order to make it an effective and optimal instrument for the applications in nanosciences.     

Specular and off-specular scattering with polarization and polarization analysis on reflectometer V6 at BER II, HZB

We report on the enhanced capabilities of neutron reflectometer V6 at the research reactor BER II at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) in investigating magnetic thin films and multilayers. It is now fully equipped for simultaneous measurements of specular and off-specular scattering with polarization and polarization analysis. The magnetization configuration of a [CoO/Co/Au]_×16 polycrystalline multilayer at room temperature is reported in demonstrating the efficiency of the instrument. The data is simulated within the supermatrix formalism under the distorted wave Born approximation for a quantitative analysis.     

Asymmetric magnetization reversal on exchange biased CoO/Co bilayers

We study magnetic hysteresis loops after field cooling of a CoO/Co bilayer by MOKE and polarized neutron reflectivity. The neutron scattering reveals that the first magnetization reversal after field cooling is dominated by domain wall movement, whereas all subsequent reversals proceed essentially by rotation of the magnetization. In addition, off-specular diffuse scattering indicates that the first magnetization reversal induces an irreversible change of the domain state in the antiferromagnet.     

Transverse and lateral structure of the spin-flop phase in fe/cr antiferromagnetic superlattices

Direct evidence of the nonuniformly canted state of the spin-flop phase induced by a magnetic field applied to Fe/Cr(100) superlattices is obtained by polarized neutron reflectometry. It is unambiguously demonstrated that the magnetization of the alternating Fe layers is twisted through the multilayer stack proving a stable noncollinear configuration. The maximal tilt at the end layers progressively reduces towards the center of the multilayer. The set of tilt angles is deduced from a model-free data evaluation employing the supermatrix routine. Spin-flip off-specular scattering is determined by the in-plane magnetization fluctuations and is fitted by a theoretical model of domains.     

On the influence of anisotropy on the magnetic small-angle neutron scattering of superparamagnetic particles

This paper presents a calculation of the magnetic small-angle neutron scattering cross-section resulting from a dilute ensemble of superparamagnetic particles exhibiting uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. We focus on the two experimentally relevant scattering geometries in which the incident neutron beam is perpendicular or parallel to an applied magnetic field, and we discuss several orientations of the anisotropy axes with respect to the field. Magnetic anisotropy has no influence on the magnetic small-angle neutron scattering when the particles are mobile, as is the case e.g. in ferrofluids, but, when the particles are embedded in a rigid non-magnetic matrix and the orientations of the anisotropy axes are fixed, significant deviations compared to the case of negligible anisotropy are expected. For the particluar situation in which the anisotropy axes are parallel to the applied field, closed-form expressions suggest that an effective anisotropy energy or anisotropy-energy distribution can be determined from experimental scattering data. Received 8 November 2001     

Thermoelectric efficiency enhanced in a quantum dot with polarization leads,spin-flip and external magnetic field

We theoretically study the thermoelectric transport properties in a quantum dot system with two ferromagnetic leads, the spin-flip scattering and the external magnetic field. The results show that the spin polarization of the leads strongly influences thermoelectric coefficients of the device. For the parallel configuration the peak of figure of merit increases with the increase of polarization strength and non-collinear configuration trends to destroy the improvement of figure of merit induced by lead polarization. While the modulation of the spin-flip scattering on the figure of merit is effective only in the absence of external magnetic field or small magnetic field. In terms of improving the thermoelectric efficiency, the external magnetic field plays a more important role than spin-flip scattering. The thermoelectric efficiency can be significantly enhanced by the magnetic field for a given spin-flip scattering strength.     

Magnetic structures and neutron polarimetry

In a thermal neutron scattering experiment, Spherical Neutron Polarimetry (SNP) requires that the incident and the final neutron polarization vectors be measured independently. The method exploits the maximum information one can get from magnetic neutron scattering. Recently, it has been used quite successfully in the study of antiferromagnetic structures and their domain populations. The challenging measurement is now straightforward with our neutron polarimeter CRYOPAD as long as the sample chamber does not contain any magnetic field. Polarimetry on magnetized samples remains the domain of the classical Uniax ial Polarization Analysis (UPA) which measures only the longitudinal component of polarization in an applied field.     

X-ray resonant magnetic scattering by Fe/Cr superlattices

We have studied the structural and magnetic properties of an antiferromagnetically (AF) coupled Fe/Cr superlattice by means of soft x-ray resonant magnetic scattering. Strong and purely magnetic Bragg peaks are observed at the half-order positions in reciprocal space parallel to the [001] growth direction and in between the structural Bragg reflections from the superlattice periodicity. The magnetic hysteresis loops measured at the first-order and at the half-order Bragg peaks clearly demonstrate the strong AF coupling of the Fe/Cr multilayer. Transverse scans and off-specular reflectivity measurements confirm an AF domain structure of the superlattice in remanence with large perpendicular correlation. In addition, the transverse scan of the half-order Bragg peak exhibits a Lorentzian line shape at zero field, which diminishes in higher fields, indicative of a remanent multidomain state approaching a single-domain state towards saturation.     

Resonances and off-specular scattering in neutron waveguides

Off-specular neutron scattering from layered resonant systems has been studied. As an example, tri-layer neutron waveguides have been investigated experimentally by neutron reflectometry. In such systems, the neutron wave function is strongly localized in the guiding layer. The resonant states in the total reflection region lead to enhanced off-specular scattering from the interface roughness. The relation between the resonant states and off-specular scattering is discussed.     

Out-of-plane spin polarization from in-plane electric and magnetic fields

We show that the joint effect of spin-orbit and magnetic fields leads to a spin polarization perpendicular to the plane of a homogeneous two-dimensional electron system with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and in-plane parallel dc magnetic and electric fields, for angle-dependent impurity scattering or nonparabolic energy spectrum, while only in-plane polarization persists for simplified models. We derive Bloch equations, describing the main features of recent experiments, including the magnetic field dependence of static and dynamic responses.     

Resolving 3D magnetism in nanoparticles using polarization analyzed SANS

Utilizing a polarized ³He cell as an analyzer we were able to perform a full polarization analysis on small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data from an ensemble of 7 nm magnetite nanoparticles. The results led to clear separation of magnetic and nuclear scattering plus a 3D vectorial decomposition of the magnetism observed. At remanence variation in long-range magnetic correlation length was found to be highly dependent on temperature from 50 to 300 K. Additionally, we were able to compare the magnetic scattering from moments along and perpendicular to an applied field at saturation and in remanence.     

The effect of magnetic field on the electrodeposition of CoFe alloys

The superimposition of a homogenous magnetic field during an electrodeposition of CoFe alloy was investigated. A magnetic field superimposed parallel to the electrode surface increases the limiting current density and the deposition rate due to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect. The deposits obtained in this field configuration appear smoother and more homogenous than the ones obtained without the magnetic field. On the contrary, a magnetic field superimposed perpendicular to the electrode surface does not influence significantly the electrochemical reaction but the morphology of the deposited layers is strongly affected. The roughness is strongly increased in this field configuration and grains grow as separated columns aligned perpendicular to the electrode surface, in the field direction. A magnetic field applied during the deposition affects the magnetic properties of the deposited layers as well. These changes are discussed with respect to the surface roughness and the internal stress state of the layer.     

On neutron depolarization in magnetized media

The neutron depolarization in magnetized samples is considered as a result of scattering in the case of arbitrary orientations between the incident polariztion, the sample field and the direction of polarization analysis. It is shown that the depolarization is determined by the small-angle magnetic scattering within the angular beam width and by an additional contribution arising from the spin-dependent scattering outside the passing beam. The latter follows from the consideration of the interference between the scattered and the transmitted beams. Special attention is paid to the analysis of several measuring regimes for the depolarization and its dependence on neutron wavelength. The depolarization in multidomain ferromagnets is considered.     

Microscopic characterization of corrosion morphology: A study in specular and diffuse neutron reflectivity

Detailed morphologies of the exposed surface of a Ni film vis-à-vis a buried interface below it have been determined by diffuse (off-specular) neutron scattering (DNS) and specular neutron reflectometry (NR). The exposed surface shows distinct morphological changes with respect to the buried interface, due to corrosion. The results demonstrate the strength of DNS in obtaining morphology of hidden interfaces and exposed surfaces simultaneously.     

Quantification of magnetic domain disorder and correlations in antiferromagnetically coupled multilayers by neutron reflectometry

The in-plane correlation lengths and angular dispersion of magnetic domains in a transition metal multilayer have been studied using off-specular neutron reflectometry techniques. A theoretical framework considering both structural and magnetic disorder has been developed, quantitatively connecting the observed scattering to the in-plane correlation length and the dispersion of the local magnetization vector about the mean macroscopic direction. The antiferromagnetic domain structure is highly vertically correlated throughout the multilayer. We are easily able to relate the neutron determined magnetic domain dispersion to magnetization and magnetoresistance experiments.     

Polarization properties of single metallic nano-spheroid using 3-D boundary element method

The polarization properties of an individual metallic nano-spheroid illuminated by the linearly polarized light are studied based on 3-D boundary element method. The scattering cross sections and the local field enhancements are investigated in detail when the incident lights are with different polarization directions and wavelengths. The numerical results show that the polarization direction of the incident light can strongly influence the scattering spectrum and the enhanced field distribution of the metallic nano-spheroid. The incident light with polarization direction parallel or perpendicular to the major axis can inspire longitudinal or transversal local surface plasmons resonance modes, respectively. The electric field enhancement and distribution around the nano-spheroid can be conveniently tuned by carefully selecting the polarization direction and wavelength of the incident light.