Electronic stability of magnetic Fe/Co superlattices with monatomic layer alternation

We report a surprising observation that the growth of the [Fe(1 ML)/Co(1 ML)](n) superlattice of L1(0) structure on Cu(100) is stable only up to six atomic layers (n=3), which cannot be rationalized by stress arguments. Instead, first-principles calculations reveal a transition from the L1(0) to the B2 structure due to the effect of dimensionality on the stability of the electronic structure of the superlattice. Whereas the majority-spin electrons are energetically insensitive to the layer thickness, the minority-spin electrons induce the transition at n=3.     

Structural and magnetic properties of BCC Fe/Co (0 0 1) superlattices

In thin layered Fe/Co (0 0 1), grown on MgO (0 0 1), both Fe and Co crystallize in the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure, as seen in a series of superlattices where the layer thickness of the components is varied from two to twelve atomic monolayers. These superlattices have novel magnetic properties as observed by magnetization and polarized neutron reflectivity measurements. There is a significant enhancement of the magnetic moments of both Fe and Co at the interfaces. Furthermore, the easy axis of the system changes from [1 0 0] for films of low cobalt content to [1 1 0] for a Co content exceeding 33%. No indication of a uniaxial anisotropy component is found in any of the samples. The first anisotropy constant (K₁) of BCC Co is found to be negative with an estimated magnitude of 110 kJ/m³ at 10 K. In all cases, the magnetic moments of Fe and Co have parallel alignment.     

Effect of magnetic ordering on optical and magneto-optical properties of Fe/Cr superlattices

Optical reflectance/transmittance and magneto-optical Kerr effect of Fe/Cr superlattices (SL) are studied by using the first principles full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave method. Equilibrium atomic structures are optimized through total energy and atomic force approaches. Pronounced peaks in the ellipticity and optical spectra are obtained around 3000 cm⁻¹ for the ferromagnetic SL due to the inter-band electron excitations. The change in magnetic ordering from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic cases alters optical functions, namely, the reflectance, R and transmittance T. The calculated ΔR/R and ΔT/T have a pronounced maximum around 2000 cm⁻¹ and decay almost linearly thereafter toward high photon energies, a result that agrees qualitatively well with experiment.     

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).     

Ab initio calculations of interfacial magnetism in Fe/Mo superlattices

Ab initio calculations have been performed on Fe/Mo(1 0 0) superlattices in order to study the interfacial magnetic properties and layer thickness effect on the magnetic moments. In most cases, the magnetic moments of interfacial Fe monolayers are always smaller than those of the inner layers, and the induced magnetic moments of interfacial Mo monolayers oriented in the opposite direction. Calculation results show that the Fe layers are ferromagnetic when n = 3. As the thickness of the Mo layers increases, the influence of the Mo layer increases and the magnetic state of the Fe layer gradually changes into an antiferromagnetic or non-magnetic state. The change of magnetic moments of Fe/Mo superlattices is in agreement with the experimentally observed oscillation periods.     

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.     

FMR investigation of magnetic anisotropies in Fe/Au superlattices

Fe(xML)/Au(xML) superlattices (1⩽x⩽4, ML: monatomic layer thickness) have been investigated by the ferromagnetic resonance method at room temperature. It has been confirmed that out-of-plane anisotropy field H_u shows oscillatory behavior as a function of Fe layer thickness with a period of 1 ML as reported previously from magnetization measurements. In addition, we have found that the in-plane fourfold anisotropy field H₂ oscillates in a similar manner. The easy magnetization axis for x⩾2.25 is Fe [1 1 0] in contrast with the case of bulk Fe, and the values of H₂ show maxima for x=2.5 and 3.5, suggesting that the atomic steps at interfaces are formed along the Fe [1 1 0] direction. Furthermore, the interface roughness for x=non-integer causes wide distributions of H_u and H₂ compared to those for x=integer with flat interfaces.     

Local magnetic states and hyperfine interactions in Fe/Ti magnetic superlattices

Multilayer Fe/Ti films are synthesized by deposition in a Penning discharge. Measurements are made of thhe static hysteresis loops and Mössbauer spectra on Fe⁵⁷ nuclei. The hyperfine magnetic field distribution functions are calculated. It is established that the spontaneous magnetization of Fe/Ti magnetic superlattices undergoes very strong oscillations as a function of the Ti layer thickness. Three groups of peaks are noted in the hyperfine field distribution functions, corresponding to three nonequivalent states of the Fe ions, in one of which these ions do not have a characteristic magnetic moment. These results also agree with measurements of the temperature dependence of the magnetization in weak magnetic fields. For some Ti interlayer thicknesses the saturation magnetization scaled to the Fe content is much higher than the saturation magnetization of bulk Fe.     

Local magnetic fields in the Mo layer of Mo/Fe multilayer

Using time-differential perturbed-angular-correlation technique, hyperfine fields at ⁹⁹Tc (←⁹⁹Mo) in the Mo layers in polyimide/Fe (10 nm)/[Mo (t _Mo)/Fe (2.0 nm)]₁₂₀, where t _Mo is in the range between 0.4 and 1.5 nm, were measured at room temperature. The values of the magnetic hyperfine field at the Mo/Fe interface were extracted. Its dependence on the Mo layer thickness suggests that the oscillatory interlayer exchange coupling is due to conduction electron spin polarization in the Mo layer, which in turn is produced via an RKKY-type mechanism.     

On the stability of bcc Co in Co/Fe superlattices an NMR and XRD study

While RHEED observations show that 10 to 11 As is the stability limit for an open bcc Co layer when grown on an Fe substrate, our XRD and NMR studies have shown that, in MBE grown Co/Fe superlattices, cobalt can be stabilised in a bcc structure up to a critical Co thickness of 21 Ås. In order to understand this apparent discrepancy, NMR experiments have been carried out in Co_x/Fe_y multilayers with thickness varying in the range 5 Å < x < 42 Å and 24 Å < y < 60 Å, grown on GaAs (1 1 0) as well as on MgO (1 0 0) substrates. The analysis of the chemical short range order by NMR concludes that the larger bcc Co thickness observed in superlattices results from the formation of a rather homogeneous CoFe_20% bcc alloy which contains the supplementary 10–11 As of Co and which coexists with pure Co grains. The concentration of about 20% Fe in the alloyed part of the Co layer happens to be close to the stability limit for a bcc structure in the equilibrium phase diagram of bulk CoFe alloys. However, while a mixture of bcc and fcc phases is observed in bulk alloys, the bcc structure is preserved in all phases under the MBE growth conditions and below the critical thickness. Above the critical thickness amixture of bcc Co, bcc CoFe and hcp Co is observed.     

Surface vs. bulk magnetic properties of Co/Fe(0 0 1) and Fe/Co/Fe(0 0 1) as probed by linear magnetic dichroism in photoemission

The atomic-like behavior of the photoionization cross-section of core levels in solids is remarkably displayed in the observation of linear magnetic dichroism in the angular distribution (LMDAD) of photoelectrons. Nevertheless, structure-related effects are clearly visible as modulations of the dichroism signal, induced by photoelectron diffraction (PED). In this paper a comparison between the PED and LMDAD behaviours is presented for Fe 3p in Fe(0 0 1). In order to separate experimentally the surface and bulk contributions, ultrathin Co/Fe pseudomorphic overlayers were grown on the Fe(0 0 1) surface. Results confirms the PED nature of LMDAD modulations, which can be used as an estimate of the bulk sensitivity of the experiment.     

The influence of interlayer exchange coupling on magnetic ordering in Fe/V superlattices

The relation between the interlayer exchange coupling and magnetic order is addressed, using Fe/V(0 0 1) superlattices as a model system. Large decrease in the ordering temperature (T_c) is observed with decreasing interlayer exchange coupling. The effective exponents of the magnetization were determined to be larger than 0.5 for all the samples, which is strongly deviating from the classical values of both two- and three-dimensional systems. This effect can partially be ascribed to the presence of boundaries, invoked by the finite number of magnetic layers.     

Cluster structure and superlattices in Co and Fe films

The process of dendritic crystallization of Co and Fe films is investigated. Electron-diffraction methods show that fractal growth of dendrites in Co and Fe films proceeds by multiple twinning of the elements of a nanostructure consisting of different clusters with close-packing. The formation of superstructures is explained by a shell model of a cluster structure forming nanocrystallites. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 12, 872–875 (25 June 1997)     

Magnetic properties of 57Fe/Ir(100) superlattices

Summary The synthesis of a new BCT Fe phase was performed in Fe/Ir(100) superlattices grown by MBE. Magnetic properties of⁵⁷Fe/Ir(100) superlattices with 4 ml Fe and variable Ir thickness (2–30 ?) are investigated by⁵⁷Fe conversion electron M?ssbauer spectroscopy in the 4.2–300 K temperature range. Two spectral components are evidence, related, respectively, to Fe atoms involved in the central part of the iron layers and at the interface between iron and iridium layers. The appearance of a high magnetic hyperfine splitting in the iron BCT structure above a volume threshold of 12 ?³ is evidenced. Marked differences are observed between the mean magnetic properties and the local ones suggesting strong relaxation effects. Paper presented at ICAME-95, Rimini, 10–16 September 1995.     

Nd28Fe66B6/Fe50Co50双层纳米复合膜的结构和磁性

利用磁控溅射法制备了Nd28F66B6/Fe50Co50双层纳米复合磁性薄膜,研究了其结构和磁性.经873K退火处理15min后,利用x射线衍射仪测定薄膜晶体结构,采用俄歇电子能谱仪估算薄膜厚度和超导量子干涉仪测量其磁性.磁性测量表明,1)该系列薄膜具有垂直于膜面的磁各向异性.从起始磁化曲线和小回线的形状特征可知,矫顽力机制主要是由畴壁钉扎控制.2)对于固定厚度(10nm)层的硬磁相Nd-Fe-B和不同厚度(dFeCo=1-100nm)层软磁相FeCo双层纳米复合膜,剩磁随软磁相FeCo厚度的增加快速增加,而矫顽力则减少.当dFeCo=5nm时,最大磁能积达到160×103A/m.磁滞回线的单一硬磁相特征说明,硬磁相Nd-Fe-B层和软磁相FeCo层之间的相互作用使两相很好地耦合在一起.剩磁和磁能积的提高是由于两相磁性交换耦合所致.