D. J. Keavney

Magnetic Vortex Core Dynamics in Cylindrical Ferromagnetic Dots

We report direct imaging by means of x-ray photoemission electron microscopy of the dynamics of magnetic vortices confined in micron-sized circular permalloy dots that are 30 nm thick. The vortex core positions oscillate on a 10 ns time scale in a self-induced magnetostatic potential well after the in-plane magnetic field is turned off. The measured oscillation frequencies as a function of the aspect ratio of the dots are in agreement with theoretical calculations presented for the same geometry.

Room-Temperature Multiferroic Hexagonal LuFeO3 Films

The crystal and magnetic structures of single-crystalline hexagonal LuFeO(3) films have been studied using x-ray, electron, and neutron diffraction methods. The polar structure of these films are found to persist up to 1050 K; and the switchability of the polar behavior is observed at room temperature, indicating ferroelectricity. An antiferromagnetic order was shown to occur below 440 K, followed by a spin reorientation resulting in a weak ferromagnetic order below 130 K. This observation of coexisting multiple ferroic orders demonstrates that hexagonal LuFeO(3) films are room-temperature multiferroics.

Where does the spin reside in ferromagnetic Cu-doped ZnO?

The authors report a soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism study of the ferromagnetism in pulsed-laser-deposited Cu-doped ZnO thin films, which display robust room-temperature ferromagnetic signatures using bulk magnetization probes. In this work, the authors probe the spin asymmetries in the Cu 3d, O 2p, and Zn 3d states individually. They find a paramagnetic component originating from the Cu 3d, and no magnetic signal in the O or Zn. They find no dichroic signal consistent with ferromagnetism originating from any of these states.

Effect of interfacial octahedral behavior in ultrathin manganite films.

We investigate structural coupling of the MnO6 octahedra across a film/substrate interface and the resultant changes of the physical properties of ultrathin La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) films. In order to isolate the effect of interfacial MnO6 octahedral behavior from that of epitaxial strain, LSMO films are grown on substrates with different symmetry and similar lattice parameters. Ultrathin LSMO films show an increased magnetization and electrical conductivity on cubic (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7 (LSAT) compared to those grown on orthorhombic NdGaO3 (NGO) substrates, an effect that subsides as the thickness of the films is increased. This study demonstrates that interfacial structural coupling can play a critical role in the functional properties of oxide heterostructures.

Charge order in LuFe2O4: an unlikely route to ferroelectricity.

We present the refinement of the crystal structure of charge-ordered LuFe2O4, based on single-crystal x-ray diffraction data. The arrangement of the different Fe-valence states, determined with bond-valence-sum analysis, corresponds to a stacking of charged Fe bilayers, in contrast with the polar bilayers previously suggested. This arrangement is supported by an analysis of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra, which also evidences a strong charge-spin coupling. The nonpolar bilayers are inconsistent with charge order based ferroelectricity.

High-coercivity, c-axis oriented Nd2Fe14B films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Thin films of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B with a c-axis orientation and bulk- like magnetic properties were grown with thickness as low as 300 {Angstrom}. They were grown on single-crystal MgO(100) wafers overcoated with epitaxial Mo(100) buffer layers. The 2-14-1 phase were crystallized either by sequential deposition or co-deposition of Fe, Nd, and B from pure elemental evaporation sources onto 600-700 C substrates. Structure of each film was characterized in-situ with RHEED and ex-situ with XRD. For the sequentially deposited films, the in-plane saturation field is 60-70 kOe at 300 K, consistent with the bulk anisotropy field of 73 kOe. The spin-reorientation transition at 135 K can also be clearly seen in the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization vs temperature data. The out-of-plane coercivities range from 15-20 kOe at 20 K and 3-8 kOe at 300 K. Co-deposition results in a multiphase structure, with Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B now the minority phase. The multiphase structure results in reduced perpendicular anisotropy.

Precessional dynamics of elemental moments in a ferromagnetic alloy

We demonstrate an element-specific measurement of magnetization precession in a metallic ferromagnetic alloy, separating Ni and Fe moment motion in Ni81Fe19. Pump-probe X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), synchronized with short magnetic field pulses, is used to measure free magnetization oscillations up to 2.6 GHz with elemental specificity and a rotational resolution of < 2 deg. Magnetic moments residing on Ni sites and Fe sites in a Ni81Fe19(50nm) thin film are found to precess together at all frequencies, coupled in phase within instrumental resolution of 90 ps.

Thermal stability of magnetic tunnel junctions studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

We have studied the evolution of chemical state of the metallic layers in NiFe/Al oxide/NiFe tunnel junction structures in as-deposited films and after postdeposition annealing. Both top and bottom NiFe layers in as-deposited films show significant Fe oxidation, but no Ni oxidation. This Fe is reduced in annealed samples, implying that oxygen migrates from the FeNi layers, possibly into the Al oxide layer. We also find that both top and bottom electrodes are significantly oxidized even in optimally annealed films.

Spin Polarization Measurement of Homogeneously Doped Fe1–xCoxSi Nanowires by Andreev Reflection Spectroscopy

We report a general method for determining the spin polarization from nanowire materials using Andreev reflection spectroscopy implemented with a Nb superconducting contact and common electron-beam lithography device fabrication techniques. This method was applied to magnetic semiconducting Fe(1-x)Co(x)Si alloy nanowires with x̅ = 0.23, and the average spin polarization extracted from 6 nanowire devices is 28 ± 7% with a highest observed value of 35%. Local-electrode atom probe tomography (APT) confirms the homogeneous distribution of Co atoms in the FeSi host lattice, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) establishes that the elemental origin of magnetism in this strongly correlated electron system is due to Co atoms.

Strain-driven spin reorientation in magnetite/barium titanate heterostructures

We report spin reorientation transitions in a Fe3O4/BaTiO3 heterostructure driven by strain at the structural phase transitions of BaTiO3. These spin reorientations result from the emergence of an in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. The magnetoelastic response of Fe3O4 to the variations in epitaxial strain that occur at the BaTiO3 phase transitions gives rise to the uniaxial anisotropy. The anisotropy energies calculated from the in-plane strain are in quantitative agreement with a change in the Zeeman energy.