Zhiyong Quan

Enhanced room temperature magnetoresistance and spin injection from metallic cobalt in Co/ZnO and Co/ZnAlO films.

Co/ZnO and Co/ZnAlO films were prepared by depositing ultrathin cobalt layers and semiconductor layers on glass substrates at room temperature. The films consist of metallic Co particles, semiconductor matrix, and an interfacial magnetic semiconductor with the substitution of Co(2+) for Zn(2+) in the ZnO lattice at the interface between Co particles and the semiconductor matrix. Large room temperature negative tunneling magnetoresistance was observed in the films. In addition, the magnetism and magnetoresistance were obviously enhanced by adding aluminum to the ZnO, and in one Co/ZnAlO sample, the room temperature negative magnetoresistance value reaches -12.3% at 18 kOe (compared with -8.4% of the corresponding Co/ZnO film) and the spin polarization of the tunneling electrons is about 37.5% which is characteristic of metallic Co. This enhancement of the tunneling spin polarization has been ascribed to the tunneling through an interfacial magnetic semiconductor, which causes the robust spin injection from cobalt metal into the semiconductors at room temperature resulting from the spin filter effect of the interfacial magnetic semiconductors.

Investigation of structure and magnetoresistance in Co/ZnO films

Co/ZnO films were deposited on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The structure of the as-deposited films is studied by means of x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization curves. It is shown that the as-deposited samples consist of a mixture of regions of metallic Co and semiconducting ZnO. Large negative magnetoresistance of 26% and 11.9% are observed in the as-deposited Co/ZnO film with Co concentration of 50.7 at. % at 10 K and room temperature, respectively. Structural analysis, the temperature dependence of the conductivity and magnetoresistance reveal that the magnetoresistance is induced by spin-dependent tunneling between regions of conducting magnetic Co through the ZnO semiconducting barriers. The enhanced magnetoresistance in the low temperature regime may be related to the existence of higher-order tunneling processes between large Co regions mediated by small Co particles.

Defects Inducing Ferromagnetism in Carbon-Doped ZnO Films

Carbon-doped ZnO films were prepared on c-cut sapphire substrates by conventional PLD method. All films exhibit RT ferromagnetism. However, the samples deposited at low temperature and low pressure with low C concentration show large M s. The substitution of carbon for O in ZnO causes the electron transfer of 3d orbital of Zn ion, which results in the generation of a net spin with one half in the d-orbit of Zn, and accordingly makes ferromagnetism possible. XPS and Auger results indicate the formation of donor defects such as VO or/and Zni in the film, which makes the net spin align, accordingly induces magnetic ordering of the films. Both a certain number of donor defects and the net spin of Zn ions caused by the substitution of O by C are two key factors in inducing magnetic ordering in C-doped ZnO films. Therefore, defect-induced ferromagnetism is reasonable to explain the observed magnetism in our experiment.

Tunable magnetic and transport properties of p-type ZnMnO films with n-type Ga, Cr, and Fe codopants

ZnMnO films codoped with Ga, Cr, and Fe were deposited on sapphire substrates via pulsed laser deposition. The structures, magnetization, and transport properties of p-type ZnMnO films can be tuned using n-type Ga, Cr, and Fe codopants. The Coulombic attraction between n- and p-type dopants favorably decreases the energy of system, thereby preventing dopant aggregation and effectively enhancing dopant solubility. The above noncompensated n–p codoping can provide a certain amount of carrier density and local spins and results in the room temperature magnetizations and low temperature positive or negative magnetoresistances in ZnO wide gap semiconductors.

Robust Interfacial Exchange Bias and Metal-Insulator Transition Influenced by the LaNiO3 Layer Thickness in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaNiO3 Superlattices

Artificial heterostructures based on LaNiO3 (LNO) have been widely investigated with the aim to realize the insulating antiferromagnetic state of LNO. In this work, we grew [(La0.7Sr0.3MnO3)5-(LaNiO3)n]12 superlattices on (001)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition and observed an unexpected exchange bias effect in field-cooled hysteresis loops. Through X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic circular dichroism experiments, we found that the charge transfer at the interfacial Mn and Ni ions can induce a localized magnetic moment. A remarkable increase of exchange bias field and a transition from metal to insulator were simultaneously observed upon decreasing the thickness of the LNO layer, indicating the antiferromagnetic insulator state in 2 unit cells LNO ultrathin layers. The robust exchange bias of 745 Oe in the superlattice is caused by an interfacial localized magnetic moment and an antiferromagnetic state in the ultrathin LNO layer, pinning the ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 layers together. Our results demonstrate that artificial interface engineering is a useful method to realize novel magnetic and transport properties.

Interfacial Spin Glass State and Exchange Bias in the Epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/LaNiO3 Bilayer

We study the magnetic properties of an epitaxial growth bilayer composed of ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) and paramagnetic LaNiO3 (LNO) on SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. We find that the stack order of the bilayer heterostructure plays a key role in the interfacial coupling strength, and the coupling at the LSMO(top)/LNO(bottom) interface is much stronger than that at the LNO(top)/LSMO(bottom). Moreover, a strong spin glass state has been observed at the LSMO/LNO interface, which is further confirmed by two facts: first, that the dependence of the irreversible temperature on the cooling magnetic field follows the Almeida-Thouless line and, second, that the relaxation of the thermal remnant magnetization can be fitted by a stretched exponential function. Interestingly, we also find an exchange bias effect at the LSMO/LNO bilayer below the spin glass freezing temperature, indicating that the exchange bias is strongly correlated with the spin glass state at its interface.

Magneto-optical properties of Co/ZnO multilayer films

[Co(0.6 nm)/ZnO(x nm)]60 (x= 0.4nm, 3nm) films were deposited on glass substrates then annealed in a vacuum. The magnetisation of the films increased with annealing but not the magnitude of the magneto-optical signals. The dielectric functions Im xy for the films were calculated using the MCD spectra. A Maxwell Garnett theory of a metallic Co/ZnO mixture is presented. The extent to which this explains the MCD spectra taken on the films is discussed.

The Exchange Bias of LaMnO 3 /LaNiO 3 Superlattices Grown along Different Orientations

With the goal of observing and explaining the unexpected exchange bias effect in paramagnetic LaNiO3-based superlattices, a wide range of theoretical and experimental research has been published. Within the scope of this work, we have grown high-quality epitaxial LaMnO3(n)-LaNiO3(n) (LMO/LNO) superlattices (SLs) along (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates. The exchange bias effect is observed in all cases, regardless of growth orientation of the LMO/LNO SLs. As a result of a combination of a number of synchrotron based x-ray spectroscopy measurements, this effect is attributed to the interfacial charge transfer from Mn to Ni ions that induces localized magnetic moments to pin the ferromagnetic LMO layer. The interaction per area between interfacial Mn and Ni ions is nearly consistent and has no effect on charge transfer for different orientations. The discrepant charge transfer and orbital occupancy can be responsible for the different magnetic properties in LMO/LNO superlattices. Our experimental results present a promising advancement in understanding the origin of magnetic properties along different directions in these materials.

Room temperature insulating ferromagnetism induced by charge transfer in ultrathin (110) La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films

The achievement of high temperature ferromagnetism in perovskite manganites has proved both fundamentally and technologically important for spintronics devices. However, high operating temperatures have not been achieved due to the depression of the Curie temperature and the rapid spin filtering efficiency loss, which are the main obstacles for practical applications. Here, we report unexpected room temperature insulating ferromagnetism in ultrathin (110) oriented La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) films. The relationships between room temperature ferromagnetism, charge transfer, and orbital occupancy are investigated, with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray linear dichroism (XLD) measurements. Our results suggest that the room temperature insulating ferromagnetism is originated from super-exchange interaction between Mn2+ and Mn3+. The formation of Mn2+ ions is related to the charge transfer induced by oxygen vacancies. Moreover, a preferential orbital occupancy of eg(3z2-r2) in Mn3+ ions is crucial to the...

Morphology and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanodot arrays using template-assisted epitaxial growth

Arrays of epitaxial Fe3O4 nanodots were prepared using laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE), with the aid of ultrathin porous anodized aluminum templates. An Fe3O4 film was also prepared using LMBE. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed that the Fe3O4 nanodots existed over large areas of well-ordered hexagonal arrays with dot diameters (D) of 40, 70, and 140 nm; height of approximately 20 nm; and inter-dot distances (Dint) of 67, 110, and 160 nm. The calculated nanodot density was as high as 0.18 Tb in.−2 when D = 40 nm. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the as-grown Fe3O4 nanodots and the film had good textures of (004) orientation. Both the film and the nanodot arrays exhibited magnetic anisotropy; the anisotropy of the nanoarray weakened with decreasing dot size. The Verwey transition temperature of the film and nanodot arrays with D ≥ 70 nm was observed at around 120 K, similar to that of the Fe3O4 bulk; however, no clear transition was observed from the small nanodot array with D = 40 nm. Results showed that magnetic properties could be tailored through the morphology of nanodots. Therefore, Fe3O4 nanodot arrays may be applied in high-density magnetic storage and spintronic devices.