Yu. P. Kabanov

Direct experimental study of the magnetization reversal process in epitaxial and polycrystalline films with unidirectional anisotropy

Direct observation of the magnetization reversal of epitaxial NiO/NiFe bilayers grown on (001) MgO and on polycrystalline Si substrates was performed by using the magneto-optical indicator film technique. It was shown that the unidirectional-axis magnetization reversal proceeds by domain nucleation and growth. A new phenomenon, an asymmetry in the activity of the domain nucleation centers, has been revealed. Remagnetization of the bilayer is shown to be governed by defect structures in the antiferromagnetic layer.

Magnetic structure and magnetization process of the glass-coated Fe-based amorphous microwire

Magnetic structure of amorphous Fe73,9B13,2Si10,9C2 microwires was studied. The magnetic structure of the as-prepared microwire was found to consist of a magnetic core and a ring-shaped surface magnetic layer made up by radially magnetized small ring domains. The geometric characteristics of microwire magnetic structure were first experimentally determined. The width of the surface ring domains is about 5 μm, and the thickness of the surface magnetic layer is 2 μm. The magnetic core of the as-prepared microwire has been shown to consist of extensive domains, no less than 500 μm in size, and their spontaneous magnetization vector deviating from the microwire axis. The effect of magnetostriction on magnetic structure and its changes induced by magnetization has been established. The magnetic structure model for microwires with positive magnetostriction constant is proposed.

Chirality of a forming spin spring and remagnetization features of a bilayer ferromagnetic system

Distribution of a magnetic moment in an exchange-coupled bilayer Fe/SmCo epitaxial structure grown on a (110) MgO substrate is visualized by the magnetooptic indicator film technique. The direction and the magnitude of the effective magnetization in this structure are determined both under external magnetic fields of variable magnitude and direction and after the removal of these fields. It is shown that such a heterostructure is remagnetized by a nonuniform rotation of a magnetic moment both along the thickness of a sample and in its plane. A field antiparallel to the axis of unidirectional anisotropy gives rise to spin springs with opposite chiralities in different regions of the magnetically soft ferromagnetic layer. The contributions of these springs to the net magnetization cancel out, thus decreasing the averaged magnetic moment and the remanent magnetization without their rotation. When the external field deviates from the easy axis, the balance is violated and the sample exhibits a quasi-uniform rotation of the magnetic moment. Asymmetry in the rotation of the magnetic moment is observed under the reversal of the field as well as under repeated remagnetization cycles. It is established that a monochiral spin spring is also formed in a rotating in-plane magnetic field when the magnitude of the field exceeds the critical value. Possible mechanisms of remagnetization in this system are discussed with regard to the original disordered orientation of magnetization of the magnetically soft layer with respect to the easy axis, which is defined by the variance of unidirectional anisotropy axes of this layer on the interface.

Magneto-optical indicator film study of the hybrid exchange spring formation and evolution processes

The elementary events of the remagnetization processes in nanocomposite magnetic bilayers were investigated using iron-garnet indicator films with in-plane anisotropy. We have observed hybrid domain walls consisting of both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic sections perpendicular to the interface. The external magnetic field shifts only the ferromagnetic part of the domain walls. This leads to the formation of a hybrid exchange spin spring parallel to the interface. The processes of spring nucleation and untwisting occur at different locations. With the field oriented antiparallel to the macroscopic unidirectional anisotropy, remagnetization of the soft ferromagnet layer in the hard/soft nanocomposite starts by the formation of an exchange spring consisting of micrometer-scale sub-domains with opposite direction spin twisting. A rotating magnetic field (smaller than some critical value) creates firstly a single-chiral spin spiral; this spiral then loses stability, incoherently untwists and gradually inverts its chirality with increasing field rotation. Untwisting of the hybrid exchange spring at higher fields leads to the creation of unusual hybrid non-180° domain walls. The initial (ground) state of the bilayer with such noncollinear magnetized domains is not restored after stopping the field rotation and returning it to zero. The revealed phenomena are attributed to the influence of the dispersion in the unidirectional anisotropy induced by magnetization frustration in the interface and bilayer crystal lattice defects.

Experimental study of excitation spectrum of a domain wall with Bloch lines in yttrium iron garnet single crystal

Abstract Using an inductive method it is possible to reveal and study the flexural vibrations of Bloch lines in an oscillating domain wall. The dependence of flexural eigenvibrations of a 180° domain wall on the Bloch-line density is studied for the first time. The fine structure of the spectrum of the eigenvibrations of the wall containing Bloch lines is found. It is shown to be caused, in particular, by eigenvibrations of Bloch lines.

Kinetics of magnetization reversal in a heterophase nanomagnet with spatially modulated anisotropy

Magnetization reversal modes in a thin-film NiFeCuMo ferromagnet (FM) with periodically varying in-plane anisotropy are studied by the magneto-optical indicator film (MOIF) technique. The uni-directional anisotropy in FM regions exchange-coupled to a FeMn antiferromagnet (AFM) film in the form of square mesh stripes is alternated by the uniaxial anisotropy in the FM regions inside this mesh. It is shown that the boundaries formed along the edges of these stripes, which separate FM regions with different anisotropy, crucially influence the kinetics of domain-structure transformation in both types of FM regions. It is established that the lateral exchange anisotropy in the ferromagnet, which is determined by the stabilization of the spin distribution in the FM layer along the FM-(FM/AFM) interface, leads to the asymmetry of the magnetization reversal in FM regions bordered with an FM/AFM structure. Anisotropy of the mobility of 180-degree “charged” and “uncharged” domain walls situated, respectively, perpendicular and parallel to the unidirectional anisotropy axis is revealed. The difference observed between the mobilities of charged and uncharged domain walls is attributed to the difference in the spin distribution in these walls with respect to the unidirectional anisotropy axis and is a key factor for the difference between the magnetization reversal kinetics in horizontal and vertical exchange-biased FM stripes. Drastic differences are revealed in the asymmetry of magnetization reversal processes in mutually perpendicular narrow stripes of FM/AFM structures. Possible mechanisms of magnetization reversal in low-dimensional FM-(FM/AFM) heterostructures are discussed with regard to the effect of domain walls localized on the edges of AFM layers.

Spectrum of flexural oscillations of a domain wall with drifting Bloch lines

It is observed that in single-crystalline yttrium iron garnet the amplitude of characteristic flexural oscillations of a 180° domain wall containing Bloch lines increases sharply when drift of the Bloch lines is excited. The resonance frequencies of these oscillations are virtually identical to those of flexural oscillations of a monopolar wall. It is shown experimentally that this phenomenon is most likely caused by a magnetic aftereffect.

Direct experimental investigation of spin-reorientation phase transitions in an antiferromagnetic CoNiCu/Cu superlattice

The characteristic features of phase transitions induced by an external magnetic field and of the corresponding changes in the relative orientations of the spins in the ferromagnetic CoNiCu layers of a multilayer film, which are coupled by an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction via nonmagnetic Cu interlayers, are studied using a magnetooptic method for visualizing the fringing fields. It is established that the magnetization reversal process in this nanocomposite material proceeds by a spin-flop orientational phase transition on account of the formation and motion of specific domain walls as well as by incoherent rotation of the spins toward the applied field. It is shown that, depending on the direction of the external magnetic field with respect to the easy axis, asymmetric canted phases also arise as a result of such transitions.

An experimental setup for obtaining metallic multilayer coatings with layers of nanometer thickness

An automated PC-controlled electrochemical setup for deposition of a specified number of different metal nanodimensional layers onto conducting substrates is described. Metallic layers are deposited in galvanic cells from solutions of corresponding electrolytes on a sample that serves as a cathode, while the anode is a plate of an inert material or a material dissolved during electrolysis. The electroplating is conducted by passing rectangular current pulses through the electrolyte solution between the sample and the anode. The amplitude (1 mA–1 A) and duration (1 ms–1 s) of the current pulses are set by a program. Samples are treated in the galvanic cells and rinsing baths according to a programmed route. In combination with efficient electrolytes for electrodeposition, the setup enables one to obtain multilayer structures of specified configuration with alternation of nanometer layers of different metals: normal metals, ferromagnets, paramagnetics, antiferromagnets, or superconductors. The characteristics of a normal metal (copper)-ferromagnet (palladium-nickel alloy) multilayer coating are presented.

Magnetic structure and properties of a bulk Fe72Al5P10Ga2C6B4Si1 alloy in the amorphous and nanocrystalline states

The structure forming under controlled crystallization of a bulk Fe72Al5P10Ga2C6B4Si1 amorphous alloy has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Crystallization of the alloy was established to result in the formation of a nanocrystalline structure consisting of three phases. The domain structure and magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline samples were investigated using the magnetooptic indicating film technique (MOIF) and a vibrating-sample magnetometer. The coercive force and the saturation magnetization of the amorphous samples were found to be 1 Oe and 130 emu/g, respectively. It was shown that the formation of the nanocrystalline structure entails a dramatic decrease in domain size (down to 1–4 µm) as compared to an amorphous sample (∼1 mm). Simultaneously, a decrease in the saturation magnetization and a strong increase in the coercive force of the samples were observed.