Nicolas Rougemaille

Observation of Bloch-point domain walls in cylindrical magnetic nanowires

Topological protection is an elegant way of warranting the integrity of quantum and nanosized systems. In magnetism one example is the Bloch-point, a peculiar object implying the local vanishing of magnetization within a ferromagnet. Its existence had been postulated and described theoretically since several decades, however it has never been observed. We con rm experimentally the existence of Bloch points, imaged within domain walls in cylindrical magnetic nanowires, combining surface and transmission XMCD-PEEM magnetic microscopy. This opens the way to the experimental search for peculiar phenomena predicted during the motion of Bloch-point-based domain walls.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of cobalt films intercalated under graphene

Magnetic properties of nanometer-thick Co films intercalated at the graphene/Ir(111) interface are investigated using spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. We show that the graphene top layer promotes perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in the Co film underneath, even for relatively thick intercalated deposits. The magnetic anisotropy energy is significantly larger for the graphene/Co interface than for the free Co surface. Hybridization of the graphene and Co electron orbitals is believed to be at the origin of the observed perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

Extensive degeneracy, Coulomb phase and magnetic monopoles in artificial square ice

Artificial spin-ice systems are lithographically patterned arrangements of interacting magnetic nanostructures that were introduced as way of investigating the effects of geometric frustration in a controlled manner. This approach has enabled unconventional states of matter to be visualized directly in real space, and has triggered research at the frontier between nanomagnetism, statistical thermodynamics and condensed matter physics. Despite efforts to create an artificial realization of the square-ice model—a two-dimensional geometrically frustrated spin-ice system defined on a square lattice—no simple geometry based on arrays of nanomagnets has successfully captured the macroscopically degenerate ground-state manifold of the model. Instead, square lattices of nanomagnets are characterized by a magnetically ordered ground state that consists of local loop configurations with alternating chirality. Here we show that all of the characteristics of the square-ice model are observed in an artificial square-ice system that consists of two sublattices of nanomagnets that are vertically separated by a small distance. The spin configurations we image after demagnetizing our arrays reveal unambiguous signatures of a Coulomb phase and algebraic spin-spin correlations, which are characterized by the presence of ‘pinch’ points in the associated magnetic structure factor. Local excitations—the classical analogues of magnetic monopoles—are free to evolve in an extensively degenerate, divergence-free vacuum. We thus provide a protocol that could be used to investigate collective magnetic phenomena, including Coulomb phases and the physics of ice-like materials.

Anatomy and Giant Enhancement of the Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy of Cobalt–Graphene Heterostructures

We report strongly enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of Co films by graphene coating from both first-principles and experiments. Our calculations show that graphene can dramatically boost the surface anisotropy of Co films up to twice the value of its pristine counterpart and can extend the out-of-plane effective anisotropy up to unprecedented thickness of 25 Å. These findings are supported by our experiments on graphene coating on Co films grown on Ir substrate. Furthermore, we report layer-resolved and orbital-hybridization-resolved anisotropy analysis, which help understanding of the physical mechanisms of PMA and more practically can help design structures with giant PMA. As an example, we propose superexchange stabilized Co-graphene heterostructures with a robust constant effective PMA and linearly increasing interfacial anisotropy as a function of film thickness. These findings point toward possibilities to engineer graphene/ferromagnetic metal heterostructures with giant magnetic anisotropy more than 20-times larger compared to conventional multilayers, which constitutes a hallmark for future graphene and traditional spintronic technologies.

Cobalt intercalation at the graphene/iridium(111) interface: influence of rotational domains, wrinkles and atomic steps

Using low-energy electron microscopy, we study Co intercalation under graphene grown on Ir(111). Depending on the rotational domain of graphene on which it is deposited, Co is found intercalated at different locations. While intercalated Co is observed preferentially at the substrate step edges below certain rotational domains, it is mostly found close to wrinkles below other domains. These results indicate that curved regions (near substrate atomic steps and wrinkles) of the graphene sheet facilitate Co intercalation and suggest that the strength of the graphene/Ir interaction determines which pathway is energetically more favorable.

360° domain wall generation in the soft layer of magnetic tunnel junctions

High spatial resolution x-ray photoemission electron microscopy technique has been used to study the influence of the dipolar coupling taking place between the NiFe and the Co ferromagnetic electrodes of micron sized, elliptical shaped magnetic tunnel junctions. The chemical selectivity of this technique allows us to observe independently the magnetic domain structure in each ferromagnetic electrode. The combination of this powerful imaging technique with micromagnetic simulations allows us to evidence that a 360° domain wall can be stabilized in the NiFe soft layer. In this letter, we discuss the origin and the formation conditions of those 360° domain walls evidenced experimentally and numerically.

Controlled Switching of Néel Caps in Flux-Closure Magnetic Dots

While magnetic hysteresis usually considers magnetic domains, the switching of the core of magnetic vortices has recently become an active topic. We considered Bloch domain walls, which are known to display at the surface of thin films flux-closure features called Néel caps. We demonstrated the controlled switching of these caps under a magnetic field, occurring via the propagation of a surface vortex. For this we considered flux-closure states in elongated micron-sized dots, so that only the central domain wall can be addressed, while domains remain unaffected.

High Domain Wall Velocity at Zero Magnetic Field Induced by Low Current Densities in Spin Valve Nanostripes

Current-induced magnetic domain wall motion at zero magnetic field is observed in the permalloy layer of a spin-valve-based nanostripe using photoemission electron microscopy. The domain wall movement is hampered by pinning sites, but in between them high domain wall velocities (exceeding 150 m/s) are obtained for current densities well below 1012 A/m2, suggesting that these trilayer systems are promising for applications in domain wall devices in case of well controlled pinning positions. Vertical spin currents in these structures provide a potential explanation for the increase in domain wall velocity at low current densities.

Fragmentation of magnetism in artificial kagome dipolar spin ice

Geometrical frustration in magnetic materials often gives rise to exotic, low-temperature states of matter, such as the ones observed in spin ices. Here we report the imaging of the magnetic states of a thermally active artificial magnetic ice that reveal the fingerprints of a spin fragmentation process. This fragmentation corresponds to a splitting of the magnetic degree of freedom into two channels and is evidenced in both real and reciprocal space. Furthermore, the internal organization of both channels is interpreted within the framework of a hybrid spin–charge model that directly emerges from the parent spin model of the kagome dipolar spin ice. Our experimental and theoretical results provide insights into the physics of frustrated magnets and deepen our understanding of emergent fields through the use of tailor-made magnetism.

Labyrinthine Island Growth during Pd/Ru(0001) Heteroepitaxy

Using low energy electron microscopy we observe that Pd deposited on Ru only attaches to small sections of the atomic step edges surrounding Pd islands. This causes a novel epitaxial growth mode in which islands advance in a snakelike motion, giving rise to labyrinthine patterns. Based on density functional theory together with scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron microscopy we propose that this growth mode is caused by a surface alloy forming around growing islands. This alloy gradually reduces step attachment rates, resulting in an instability that favors adatom attachment at fast advancing step sections.