Aya Obinata

Electric-field control of magnetic moment in Pd

Several magnetic properties have recently become tunable with an applied electric field. Particularly, electrically controlled magnetic phase transitions and/or magnetic moments have attracted attention because they are the most fundamental parameters in ferromagnetic materials. In this study, we showed that an electric field can be used to control the magnetic moment in films made of Pd, usually a non-magnetic element. Pd ultra-thin films were deposited on ferromagnetic Pt/Co layers. In the Pd layer, a ferromagnetically ordered magnetic moment was induced by the ferromagnetic proximity effect. By applying an electric field to the ferromagnetic surface of this Pd layer, a clear change was observed in the magnetic moment, which was measured directly using a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The results indicate that magnetic moments extrinsically induced in non-magnetic elements by the proximity effect, as well as an intrinsically induced magnetic moments in ferromagnetic elements, as reported previously, are electrically tunable. The results of this study suggest a new avenue for answering the fundamental question of “can an electric field make naturally non-magnetic materials ferromagnetic?”

Control of magnetic anisotropy in Pt/Co system using ionic liquid gating

The magnetic anisotropy of the Pt/Co system under ionic liquid gating was studied. A comparison of results obtained using samples under the gating and those subjected to mild oxidization by oxygen plasma ashing suggested that the anodic oxidization of the Co layer could be one of the causes of the large modulation observed in the magnetic anisotropy. However, the charge accumulation effect was probably dominant when the Co layer was on the cathode side. The experiments presented here are expected to aid in elucidating the mechanism by which electric fields affect magnetism.

Dependence of Curie temperature on Pt layer thickness in Co/Pt system

The Pt thickness dependence of the Curie temperature of perpendicularly magnetized ultra-thin (Pt/)Co/Pt films has been investigated by magnetization measurements. The Curie temperature and the saturation magnetic moment increase with the Co layer thickness and even with the Pt layer thickness. The Curie temperature is found to have linear dependence on the total magnetic moment of the system and the coefficients of the linear fits are almost identical, regardless of whether the thicknesses of the ferromagnetic Co layer or the Pt layer are varied. The Curie temperature also increases with the magnetic anisotropy, but no systematic dependence is observed. These results suggest that the magnetic moment induced in the Pt layer by the ferromagnetic proximity effect plays a significant role in determining the Curie temperatures of such two-dimensional ferromagnetic systems.

Electric field modulation of magnetic anisotropy in perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co structure with a Pd top layer

We investigated the electric field effect on magnetic anisotropy in a perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co system with a top ultrathin layer of nonmagnetic Pd. By applying an electric field to the surface of the ferromagnetic Pd layer, we observed a clear modulation of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the system. This result shows that the magnetic anisotropy can be modulated by an electric field even when nonmagnetic Pd is inserted at the interface formed by the magnetic layer and insulator. The electric field effect of the proximity-induced moment in Pd might contribute to the anisotropy modulation.

Sign Reversal of Electric Field Effect on Coercivity in MgO/Co/Pt System

The authors have investigated the effect of film deposition conditions on the electric field modulation of the coercivity in a perpendicularly magnetized MgO/Co/Pt system. In samples with the MgO capping layer deposited using high rf-sputtering power, the direction of coercivity change caused by applying an electric field was opposite to that in the previous results on the same system. This result indicates that the film deposition condition can strongly affect the electrical control of magnetic properties.

Peculiar temperature dependence of electric-field effect on magnetic anisotropy in Co/Pd/MgO system

We report on the temperature dependence of the magnetic anisotropy in Co/Pd/MgO system, in which magnetic moment in Pd is induced by the magnetic proximity effect. We demonstrate that the magnetic anisotropy is modulated by applying an electric field to the Pd surface. At temperatures below 100 K, we find the nonlinear electric-field dependence of the anisotropy with the sign reversal. We obtain a huge anisotropy modulation efficiency of ∼1600 fJ/V m at 10 K.

Erratum: Electric-field control of magnetic moment in Pd

Several magnetic properties have recently become tunable with an applied electric field. Particularly, electrically controlled magnetic phase transitions and/or magnetic moments have attracted attention because they are the most fundamental parameters in ferromagnetic materials. In this study, we showed that an electric field can be used to control the magnetic moment in films made of Pd, usually a non-magnetic element. Pd ultra-thin films were deposited on ferromagnetic Pt/Co layers. In the Pd layer, a ferromagnetically ordered magnetic moment was induced by the ferromagnetic proximity effect. By applying an electric field to the ferromagnetic surface of this Pd layer, a clear change was observed in the magnetic moment, which was measured directly using a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The results indicate that magnetic moments extrinsically induced in non-magnetic elements by the proximity effect, as well as an intrinsically induced magnetic moments in ferromagnetic elements, as reported previously, are electrically tunable. The results of this study suggest a new avenue for answering the fundamental question of “can an electric field make naturally non-magnetic materials ferromagnetic?”

Electric field control of magnetic anisotropy in a Co/Pt bilayer deposited on a high-κ SrTiO3

The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of a Co (0.5 nm)/Pt (2.4 nm) bilayer film was electrostatically tuned using a high-κ dielectric, SrTiO3, with a back-gating configuration. The Co film was directly deposited onto a SrTiO3 (001) substrate and capped by a Pt layer. The coercivity was enhanced (reduced) by applying a positive (negative) gate bias. The efficiency of the PMA energy modulation by the electric field was determined to be 1300–23 100 fJ/V m, which is 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than the efficiencies obtained in previous studies. The superior efficiency of this system is most likely attributable to the large dielectric constant of the SrTiO3 gate insulator and could be evidence that the PMA energy modulation is induced by charge accumulation.

Dielectric and magnetic characterizations of capacitor structures with an ionic liquid/MgO barrier and a ferromagnetic Pt electrode

The dielectric and magnetic properties of electric double layer (EDL) capacitor structures with a perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Pt electrode and an insulating cap layer (MgO) are investigated. An electric field is applied through a mixed ionic liquid/MgO barrier to the surface of the top Pt layer, at which the magnetic moment is induced by the ferromagnetic proximity effect. The basic dielectric properties of the EDL capacitor are studied by varying the thickness of the MgO cap layer. The results indicate that the capacitance, i.e., the accumulated charge density at the Pt surface, is reduced with increasing the MgO thickness. From the MgO thickness dependence of the capacitance value, the effective dielectric constant of the ionic liquid is evaluated. Almost no electric field effect on the magnetic moment, the coercivity, or the Curie temperature is confirmed in the top Pt layer with the thickness of 1.3 nm, regardless of the presence or absence of the MgO cap layer, whereas the a clear change in the ...

Electric Field Control of Induced Magnetic Moment in Pd on Co Layer

By applying gate electric field, we achieved to control induced magnetic moment in Pd, which is usually a non-magnetic metal. In the Pd layer deposited on ferromagnetic Co layer, a ferromagnetically ordered magnetic moment is induced by the ferromagnetic proximity effect. In the experiment, a clear change in the induced magnetic moment was observed by applying electric field to the ferromagnetic surface of the Pd layer. The results indicate that magnetic moment extrinsically induced in non-magnetic metals by the proximity effect are electrically tunable.