Structural and magnetic features of solid-phase transformations in Mn/Bi and Bi/Mn films

Solid-phase transformations at different annealing temperatures in Mn/Bi (Mn on Bi) and Bi/Mn (Bi on Mn) films have been studied using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and magnetic measurements. It has been shown that the synthesis of the α-MnBi phase in polycrystalline Mn/Bi films begins at a temperature of ~120°C and the Mn and Bi layers react completely at 300°C. The resulting α-MnBi(001) samples have a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (K _u ? 1.5 × 10⁷ erg/cm³) and a coercive force H > H _C ~ 3 kOe. In contrast to Mn/Bi, the ferromagnetic α-MnBi phase in Bi/Mn films is not formed even at annealing processes up to 400°C and Mn clusters are formed in a Bi melt. This asymmetry in phase transformations occurs because chemosorbed oxygen existing on the surface of the Mn film in Bi/Mn films suppresses a solid-phase reaction between Mn and Bi. The analysis of the results obtained implies the existence of new low-temperature (~120°C) structural transformation in the Mn–Bi system.     

Solid-state synthesis and phase transformations in Ni/Fe films: Structural and magnetic studies

We have used X-ray diffraction, volume magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant and resistance measurements to study solid-state synthesis in Ni(0 0 1)/Fe(0 0 1), Ni/Fe(0 0 1) and Ni/Fe thin films with the atomic ratio between Fe and Ni of 1:1 (1Fe:1Ni), and 3:1 (3Fe:1Ni). We have found that the formation of Ni₃Fe and NiFe phases in the 1Fe:1Ni films takes place at temperatures ∼620 and ∼720 K, correspondingly. In the case of the 3Fe:1Ni films the solid-state synthesis starts with Ni₃Fe and NiFe phase formation at the same temperatures as for the 1Fe:1Ni films. The increasing of annealing temperature above 820 K leads to the nucleation of a paramagnetic γ_par phase at the FeNi/Fe interface. The final products of solid-state synthesis in the Ni(0 0 1)/Fe(0 0 1) thin films are crystallites which consist of the epitaxially intergrown NiFe and γ_par phases according to the [1 0 0](0 0 1)NiFe||[1 0 0](0 0 1)γ_par orientation relationship. The crystalline perfection and epitaxial growth of the (NiFe+γ_par) crystallites on the MgO(0 0 1) surface allow to distinguish (0 0 2)γ_par and (0 0 2)NiFe X-ray peaks (the cell parameters are: a(γ_par)=0.3600±0.0005 nm and a(NiFe)=0.3578±0.0005 nm, correspondingly). At low temperatures the paramagnetic γ_par phase undergoes the martensite _γpar→α^′${\gamma }_{\mathrm{par}}\to {\alpha }^{\prime }$ phase transition which can be hindered by thermal and epitaxial strains and epitaxial clamping with a MgO substrate. On the basis of the studies of the thin-film solid-state synthesis we predict the existence of two novel structural phase transformations at the temperatures of about 720 and 820 K for alloys of the invar region of the Fe–Ni system.     

Development of magnetic anisotropies in ultrathin epitaxial films of Fe(001) and Ni(001)

Ultrathin films, bcc Fe(001) on Ag(001), fcc Fe(001) on Cu(001) and Fe/Ni(001) bilayers on Ag, were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. A wide range of surface science tools were employed to establish the quality of epitaxial growth. Ferromagnetic resonance and Brillouin light scattering were used to extract the magnetic properties. Emphasis was placed on the study of magnetic anisotropies. Large uniaxial anisotropies with easy axis perpendicular to the film surface were observed in all ultrathin structures studied. These anisotropies were particularly strong in fcc Fe and bcc Fe films. In sufficiently thin samples the saturation magnetization was oriented perpendicularly to the film surface in the absence of an applied field. It has been demonstrated that in bcc Fe films the uniaxial perpendicular anisotropy originates at the film interfaces. In situ measurements indentified the strength of the uniaxial perpendicular anisotropy constant at the Fe/vacuum, Fe/Ag and Fe/Au interfaces asK _us = 0.96, 0.63, and 0.3 ergs/cm² respectively. The surface anisotropies deduced for [bulk Fe/noble metal] interfaces are in good agreement with the values obtained from ultrathin films. Hence the perpendicular surface ansiotropies originate in the broken symmetry at abrupt interfaces. An observed decrease in the cubic anisotropy in bcc Fe ultrathin films has been explained by the presence of a weak 4th order in-plane surface anisotropy,K _1S=0.012 ergs/cm². Fe/Ni bilayers were also investigated. Ni grew in the pure bcc structure for the first 3–6 ML and then transformed to a new structure which exhibited unique magnetic properties. Transformed ultrathin bilayers possessed large inplane 4th order anisotropies far surpassing those observed in bulk Fe and Ni. The large 4th order anisotropies originate in crystallographic defects formed during the Ni lattice transformation.     

NiO-thickness dependent magnetic anisotropies in Fe/NiO/Au(001) and Fe/NiO/MgO(001) systems

The in-plane magnetic anisotropy of Fe/NiO bilayers was studied quantitatively as a function of NiO thickness using the magneto-optical Kerr effect with a rotating field. For NiO thicker than the ordering transition thickness, the total in-plane fourfold anisotropy of the Fe layer decreases with NiO thickness in Fe/NiO/Au(001), but increases in Fe/NiO/MgO(001). Our result indicates that the exchange coupling in an Fe/NiO bilayer might induce an additional in-plane fourfold anisotropy, and the opposite thickness dependent behaviors may be attributed to the different Ni²⁺ antiferromagnetic spin orientations for NiO films grown on Au(001) and MgO(001) surfaces.     

Structural and magnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial Fe films on GaAs(001) and related semiconductor substrates

This article presents a review of the structural and magnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial Fe films on GaAs(001) and related semiconductor substrates. Interest in these systems and Fe/GaAs(001) in particular has increased significantly over the last two decades, largely due to the emergence of the field of magnetoelectronics. Since then numerous studies of molecular beam epitaxy of Fe on GaAs(001) have been carried out, making it by far the best researched Fe/semiconductor(001) system. Issues such as magnetic anisotropy in the ultrathin regime, however, remain controversial with contradictory reports in the literature giving rise to considerable controversy within the field. By carefully scrutinizing the enormous amount of literature published on Fe/GaAs(001) so far and analysing these results within the wider context of Fe/semiconductor(001) systems, this article tries to settle some of these controversial issues, hence providing a long overdue ‘common denominator' for research in this area.     

Temperature dependence of multi-jump magnetic switching process in epitaxial Fe/MgO(001) films

Temperature dependence of magnetic switching processes with multiple jumps in Fe/MgO(001) films is investigated by magnetoresistance measurements. When the temperature decreases from 300K to 80K, the measured three-jump hysteresis loops turn into two-jump loops. The temperature dependence of the fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy constant K1, domain wall pinning energy, and an additional uniaxial magnetic anisotropy constant KUare responsible for this transformation. The strengths of K1 and domain wall pinning energy increase with decreasing temperature, but KU remains unchanged. Moreover, magnetization reversal mechanisms, with either two successive or two separate 90°domain wall propagation, are introduced to explain the multi-jump magnetic switching process in epitaxial Fe/Mg O(001) films at different temperatures.     

The structures and magnetic properties of Cr/Fe and Mn/Fe thin films

Cr_1-x Fe _x and Mn_1-x Fe _x films were prepared at room temperature by thermal coevaporation at a deposition rate of about 25 Å/min. It was found that an amorphous phase can be obtained for Cr_1-x Fe _x (0.25<x<0.60) films, while a metastable-Mn-type phase was observed for Mn_1-x Fe _x (x<0.70) films. The influence of the structure on the magnetic properties has been studied. The amorphization ability of the two systems was discussed in terms of thermodynamic considerations.     

Oxygen-induced symmetrization and structural coherency in Fe/MgO/Fe(001) magnetic tunnel junctions

We present x-ray diffraction experiments and multiple-scattering calculations on the structure and transport properties of a Fe/MgO/Fe(001) magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). Coherent growth of the top Fe electrode on the MgO spacer is observed only for Fe deposition in ambient oxygen atmosphere leading to a coherent and symmetric MTJ structure characterized by FeO layers at both interfaces. This goes in parallel with calculations indicating large positive tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) values in such symmetric junctions. The results have important implications for achieving giant TMR values.     

Isolating the step contribution to the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in nanostructured Fe/Ag(001) films

We have investigated the possibility of isolating the step-induced in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in Fe/Ag(001) films on which nanoscale surface ripples were fabricated by the ion sculpting technique. For rippled Fe films deposited on flat Ag(001), the steps created along the ripple sidewalls are shown to be the only source of uniaxial anisotropy. Ion sculpting of ultrathin magnetic films allows one to selectively study the step-induced anisotropy and to investigate the correlation between local atomic environment and magnetic properties.     

Solid-state synthesis in Ni/Fe/MgO(001) epitaxial thin films

Solid-state synthesis in Ni/Fe/MgO(001) bilayer epitaxial thin films has been studied experimentally. The phase sequence Fe/Ni→(～350°C)Ni₃Fe→(～400°C)NiFe→(～ 550°C)γ_par is formed as the annealing temperature increases. The crystal structure in the invar region consists of epitaxially intergrown single-crystal blocks consisting of the paramagnetic γ_par and ferromagnetic NiFe phases, which satisfy the orientation relationship [100](001)NiFe ∥ [100](001) γ_par. It has been shown that the nucleation temperatures of the Ni₃Fe, NiFe, and γ_par phases coincide with the temperatures of solid-state transformations in the Ni-Fe system.     

Structural and magnetic properties of the Ce/Fe(001) interface: a spin resolved inverse photoemission study

We report a spin-resolved inverse photoemission study on the early stages of the Ce/Fe(001) interface formation in the coverage range 0–10 Å. The interface has been grown in two different fashions (i.e., keeping the substrate temperature either at room temperature or at 600 °C), leading to quite different morphologic and magnetic properties. The room-temperature-grown interface shows the formation of a non-intermixed disordered Ce phase, giving rise to quite featureless spectra and to the absence of detectable spin-dependent effects. The hot-grown interface shows instead the formation of a stable and ordered Ce---Fe compound, with the clear appearance of new structures which show a sizeable spin-dependent behavior. A relevant Ce 4f contribution to them is ruled out on the basis of their angular dependence and of cross-section arguments, indicating their band-like character.     

MAPLE deposition of Mn(III) metalloporphyrin thin films: Structural, topographical and electrochemical investigations

We report the deposition by MAPLE of metallized nanostructured (5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl)porphinato manganese(III) chloride thin films onto gold screen-printed electrodes, or 〈1 1 1〉 Si substrates. The deposited nanostructures were characterized by atomic force microscopy and exhibited globular structures with average diameters decreasing with laser fluence. Raman spectroscopy showed that no major decomposition appeared. We have investigated the Mn(III)-metalloporphyrin thin films by cyclic voltammetry in order to evaluate the potential bio/chemosensing activity on dopamine neurotransmitter analyte. We have found that the manganese(III)-porphyrin is appropriate as a single mediator for dopamine sensing in the specific case of gold screen-printed electrodes.