Beam-plasma mechanism for anode plasma generation in a low-pressure two-stage self-sustained discharge with a cold hollow cathode

Results are presented from experimental studies of the anode region of a low-pressure two-stage self-sustained discharge with a closed cold hollow cathode. It is shown that applying an external longitudinal magnetic field promotes the generation of a dense anode plasma, whereas the transverse field impedes this generation. It is established that the beam-plasma mechanism for plasma generation plays a dominant role in the anode region of the discharge. The geometry of the electrodes of the gas-discharge chamber is optimized.     

Crystal structure and magnetic properties of nanosized Mg(Fe0.8Ga0.2)2O4-δ films on Si substrates

Film samples of nominal Mg(Fe_0.8Ga_0.2)₂O_4-δ composition were obtained on Si(100) substrates by oxygen-ion-beam sputtering of a Mg(Fe_0.8Ga_0.2)₂O_4-δ ceramic target. The film thicknesses were ～200 and ～400 nm. Field dependences of the specific magnetization of ～200-nm films annealed at different temperatures (800–1000°C) have been measured. The crystal structure, surface morphology, and magnetic characteristics of films of different thicknesses (～200 and ～400 nm) are investigated. The reasons for the discrepancy between the specific magnetizations of the films obtained and their ceramic analog are discussed.     

Magnetoplasmonic crystals: Resonant linear and nonlinear magnetooptical effects

Results of spectroscopic analysis of the optical second-harmonic (SH) generation in magnetic plasmonic structures comprised of iron garnet and periodic arrays of gold stripes are presented. It is shown experimentally that, in the region of the resonant excitation of a surface plasmon on the metal–magnetic dielectric interface, an increase in the SH intensity and an alternating modulation of the magnetic contrast for the SH, reaching 40%, are observed. The results are described in terms of a nonlinear Fano resonance.     

Magnetism of a cobalt-gold planar nanostructure on the silicon surface

The structural and magnetic properties of a cobalt nanolayer placed between a silicon substrate and a protective gold layer are studied. At a cobalt layer mass thickness of 1–2 nm, a nanoisland structure is shown to form. This thickness range is characterized by a local maximum of the magnetooptical Kerr effect and enhanced nonlinear optical and magnetic nonlinear optical responses at the second-harmonic frequency. This enhancement can be caused by the excitation of local surface plasmons and an increase in the local fields at the probing-radiation and second-harmonic frequencies in metallic nanoislands. The surface-sensitive nonlinear magnetooptical Kerr effect at the second-harmonic frequency is maximal at a cobalt layer thickness of about 2 nm, which corresponds to the characteristic scale of magnetization formation in the near-surface layer in cobalt.     

Investigation of the SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>(Co)/GaAs heterostructures using the surface scattering of synchrotron radiation

The giant injection magnetoresistive effect has been observed in a granulated Co/SiO₂ film on a semiconductor GaAs substrate in a narrow temperature range near T = 300 K. According to the existing theory, the nature of the effect is due to the structure and physical problems of the interface layer. The spatial distribution of cobalt nanoparticles in the bulk of the Co/SiO₂ granular film and at the granular film/semiconductor substrate (GF/SS) interface has been investigated by the reflectometry and small-angle scattering of synchrotron radiation in the grazing geometry. It has been shown that the characteristic average distance between the cobalt granules in the bulk of the film is 7.3 nm. At the same time, the average distance between the granules with a vertical size of about 7.5 nm at the GF/SS interface is 32 nm. The experimental data indicate the low concentration of cobalt at the interface and the point character of the contact of the main bulk of the Co/SiO₂ film with the GaAs substrate through a relatively diluted layer of ferromagnetic cobalt granules.     

Preparation of ultrathin gold films by oxygen-ion sputtering and their optical properties

The optical and electrical properties of gold films of thickness varying from less than 1 to 8 nm are studied. The films are obtained by sputtering with argon ion and oxygen ion beams. It is shown that the properties of the films are independent of the type of ions used for sputtering. The 1-to 5-nm-thick films are continuous and offer a high transparency. Sputtering by oxygen ion beams is used to produce NiO_x/Au ohmic contacts to p-GaN.     

Polarized neutron reflectometry from the interface of the heterostructures SiO2(Co)/Si and SiO2(Co)/GaAs

Polarized neutron reflectometry is used to investigate SiO₂(Co) granular films (70 at% of Co nanoparticles in SiO₂ matrix) deposited on Si and GaAs substrates. The aim of the study is to compare magnetization depth profiles in two systems: in SiO₂(Co)/GaAs heterostructure which shows at room temperature giant injection magnetoresistance (IMR) with the system SiO₂(Co)/Si which reveals almost no IMR effect. We found that at room temperature and at the same value of external magnetic field mean magnetization in the SiO₂(Co)/GaAs sample is much higher than in the case of SiO₂(Co)/Si. We also demonstrate that magnetic scattering length density, and hence, magnetization profile strongly depends on the substrate. We show that SiO₂(Co)/Si heterostructure is ferromagnetically ordered within the temperature range between 120 and 460 K what could explain a weak IMR.     

Cobalt redistribution over the surface of inhomogeneous cobalt-copper alloy films

The surfaces of electrodeposited 1-μm-thick Co_xCu_100−x (x=8, 11, and 20 at. %) films and also of 0.2-μm-thick films obtained by sputtering targets made of the electrodeposited films with an argon ion beam are analyzed by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XPS data indicate that cobalt is absent on the surface of the electrodeposited films but is present in the bulk and on the surface of the sputtered films. The difference in the XPS spectra of copper in the electrodeposited and sputtered films of the same composition is less significant. The data obtained are explained within the framework of a qualitative model according to which subgrains of the basic (copper) component coalesce into large clusters, which subsequently take on a regular oval shape on the free surface. This process favors cobalt atom migration from the free surface to near-surface voids. High-energy particles existing in the flux of the target sputtering products bombard the growth front of the ion-sputtered films, causing the fastest sputtered cobalt atoms to penetrate into the copper matrix as point defects.     

Giant injection magnetoresistance in the heterostructure gallium arsenide/granular film with cobalt nanoparticles

We have studied the electron transport and have observed new phenomenon—the positive injection magnetoresistance on heterostructures gallium arsenide/granular film SiO₂ with Co nanoparticles and gallium arsenide/granular film TiO₂ with Co island layers.