Y. Khaydukov

Element-specific depth profile of magnetism and stoichiometry at the La0.67Sr0.33MnO3/BiFeO3 interface

Depth-sensitive magnetic, structural and chemical characterization is important in the understanding and optimization of novel physical phenomena emerging at interfaces of transition metal oxide heterostructures. In a simultaneous approach we have used polarized neutron and resonant X-ray reflectometry to determine the magnetic profile across atomically sharp interfaces of ferromagnetic La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 / multiferroic BiFeO3 bi-layers with sub-nanometer resolution. In particular, the X-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity measurements at the Fe and Mn resonance edges allowed us to determine the element specific depth profile of the ferromagnetic moments in both the La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 and BiFeO3 layers. Our measurements indicate a magnetically diluted interface layer within the La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 layer, in contrast to previous observations on inversely deposited layers. Additional resonant X-ray reflection measurements indicate a region of an altered Mn- and O-content at the interface, with a thickness matching that of the magnetic diluted layer, as origin of the reduction of the magnetic moment.

Enhanced Magnetization of Cobalt Defect Clusters Embedded in TiO2−δ Films

High magnetizations are desirable for spintronic devices that operate by manipulating electronic states using built-in magnetic fields. However, the magnetic moment in promising dilute magnetic oxide nanocomposites is very low, typically corresponding to only fractions of a Bohr magneton for each dopant atom. In this study, we report a large magnetization formed by ion implantation of Co into amorphous TiO2-δ films, producing an inhomogeneous magnetic moment, with certain regions producing over 2.5 μB per Co, depending on the local dopant concentration. Polarized neutron reflectometry was used to depth-profile the magnetization in the Co:TiO2-δ nanocomposites, thus confirming the pivotal role of the cobalt dopant profile inside the titania layer. X-ray photoemission spectra demonstrate the dominant electronic state of the implanted species is Co0, with a minor fraction of Co2+. The detected magnetizations have seldom been reported before and lie near the upper limit set by Hunds rules for Co0, which is unusual because the transition metals magnetic moment is usually reduced in a symmetric 3D crystal-field environment. Low-energy positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy indicates that defect structures within the titania layer are strongly modified by the implanted Co. We propose that a clustering motif is promoted by the affinity of the positively charged implanted species to occupy microvoids native to the amorphous host. This provides a seed for subsequent doping and nucleation of nanoclusters within an unusual local environment.

Structural, magnetic, and superconducting properties of pulsed-laser-deposition-grown La1.85 Sr0.15 CuO4 / La2/3 Ca1/3 MnO3 superlattices on (001)-oriented LaSrAlO4 substrates

Epitaxial La1.85 Sr0.15 CuO4 / La2/3 Ca1/3 MnO3 (LSCO/LCMO) superlattices (SL) on (001)- oriented LaSrAlO4 substrates have been grown with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Their structural, magnetic and superconducting properties have been determined with in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), x-ray diffraction, specular neutron reflectometry, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), electric transport, and magnetization measurements. We find that despite the large mismatch between the in-plane lattice parameters of LSCO (a = 0.3779 nm) and LCMO (a = 0.387 nm) these superlattices can be grown epitaxially and with a high crystalline quality. While the first LSCO layer remains clamped to the LSAO substrate, a sizeable strain relaxation occurs already in the first LCMO layer. The following LSCO and LCMO layers adopt a nearly balanced state in which the tensile and compressive strain effects yield alternating in-plane lattice parameters with an almost constant average value. No major defects are observed in the LSCO layers, while a significant number of vertical antiphase boundaries are found in the LCMO layers. The LSCO layers remain superconducting with a relatively high superconducting onset temperature of Tconset ≈ 36 K. The macroscopic superconducting response is also evident in the magnetization data due to a weak diamagnetic signal below 10 K for H ∥ ab and a sizeable paramagnetic shift for H ∥ c that can be explained in terms of a vortex-pinning-induced flux compression. The LCMO layers maintain a strongly ferromagnetic state with a Curie temperature of TCurie ≈ 190 K and a large low-temperature saturation moment of about 3.5 (1) μB. These results suggest that the LSCO/LCMO superlattices can be used to study the interaction between the antagonistic ferromagnetic and superconducting orders and, in combination with previous studies on YBCO/LCMO superlattices, may allow one to identify the relevant mechanisms.

X-ray absorption study of the ferromagnetic Cu moment at the YBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 interface and variation of its exchange interaction with the Mn moment

With x-ray absorption spectroscopy and polarized neutron reflectometry we studied how the magnetic proximity effect at the interface between the cuprate high-TC superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) and the ferromagnet La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) is related to the electronic and magnetic properties of the LCMO layers. In particular, we explored how the magnitude of the ferromagnetic Cu moment on the YBCO side depends on the strength of the antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange coupling with the Mn moment on the LCMO side. We found that the Cu moment remains sizable if the AF coupling with the Mn moments is strongly reduced or even entirely suppressed. The ferromagnetic order of the Cu moments thus seems to be intrinsic to the interfacial CuO2 planes and related to a weakly ferromagnetic intraplanar exchange interaction. The latter is discussed in terms of the partial occupation of the Cu 3d3z2 - r2 orbitals, which occurs in the context of the so-called orbital reconstruction of the interfacial Cu ions.

Magnetic proximity effect and superconducting triplet correlations at the cuprate superconductor and oxide spin valve interface

A heterostructure consisting of a cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-delta and a ruthenate/manganite (SrRuO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3) spin valve was studied using SQUID magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance, and neutron reflectometry. It is shown that because of the magnetic proximity effect a magnetic moment is excited in the superconducting portion of the heterostructure, whereas the magnetic moment in the spin valve becomes suppressed. The experimentally obtained value of a typical penetration depth of a magnetic moment into the superconductor is significantly greater than the coherence length of the cuprate superconductor, which indicates that the induced magnetic moment mechanism of Cu atoms is dominant. The mesastructure prepared by adding niobium film as a second superconducting electrode to the existing heterostructure, exhibited a superconducting current (dc Josephson effect) at interlayer thicknesses that are much greater than the coherence length of the ferromagnetic materials. The maximum of the critical current density dependence on the thickness of the spin valve material corresponds to the interlayer coherence length, which agrees with the theoretical predictions associated with spin-triplet pairing. The superconducting current is observed at magnetic fields that are two orders of magnitude greater than the field corresponding to the occurrence of one magnetic flux quantum in the mesastructure. The ratio of the second harmonic of the current-phase dependence of the mesastructure superconducting current to the first, determined according to the dependence of the Shapiro steps on the amplitude of microwave exposure, did not exceed 50%.

Enhanced Magnetism in Field-Cooled [Ni80Fe20/Mn]3 Multilayers Studied Using Polarized Neutron Reflectometry

Here, the interfacial magnetic coupling in an exchange biased [Ni80Fe20/Mn]3 multilayer system has been studied using polarized neutron reflectometry. Previous results on this system indicate the importance of the coupling between the Fe-Mn and Ni-Mn orbitals at the layer interfaces. Magnetic depth profiles of the multilayer were measured at low temperatures under field-cooled and zero-field-cooled conditions. While no definitive interfacial state was found, a magnetic moment enhancement of roughly 20-30% in the applied field direction was observed throughout the bulk of the NiFe layers in the field-cooled state as compared to the zero-field-cooled measurements. The origin of this enhancement also likely stems from Fe-Mn and Ni-Mn orbital coupling, but due to the interfacial roughnesses of the sample, the areas where this coupling plays an important role is no longer confined to the interface.

Ferromagnetic State of LaMnO3 Interlayer in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaMnO3/SrRuO3 Heterostructures

Magnetic state of epitaxial heterostructures La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaMnO3/SrRuO3 (LSMO/LMO/SRO) was studied by SQUID magnetometer, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) techniques. The fit of PNR and FMR data give us the magnetization of each layer, while the SQUID gives the total magnetization of our structures. The magnetic moment of the LMO layer has the magnetization 4πMLMO=4.2kGs (2.4 mB/Mn) at T=140K according to our PNR data fitting.

Triplet superconductivity in oxide ferromagnetic interlayer of mesa-structure

We present experimental data on Nb-Au/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrRuO3/YBa2Cu3O7-δ mesa- structure with in plane linear size 10÷50 μm. The mesa-structures were patterned from the epitaxial heterostructures fabricated by pulsed laser ablation and magnetron sputtering. Superconducting critical current was observed for mesa-structures with the interlayer thicknesses up to 50 nm. In the mesa-structures with just one, either La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 or SrRuO3 interlayer with a thickness larger than 10 nm no superconducting current was observed. The registered superconducting current for the mesa-structures with a thinner interlayer is attributed to pinholes. Obtained results are discussed in terms of superconducting long-range triplet generation at interfaces of superconductor and a composite ferromagnet consisting of ferromagnetic materials with non-collinear magnetization.