311 research outputs found
Influence of chemical and magnetic interface properties of Co-Fe-B / MgO / Co-Fe-B tunnel junctions on the annealing temperature dependence of the magnetoresistance
The knowledge of chemical and magnetic conditions at the Co40Fe40B20 / MgO
interface is important to interpret the strong annealing temperature dependence
of tunnel magnetoresistance of Co-Fe-B / MgO / Co-Fe-B magnetic tunnel
junctions, which increases with annealing temperature from 20% after annealing
at 200C up to a maximum value of 112% after annealing at 350C. While the well
defined nearest neighbor ordering indicating crystallinity of the MgO barrier
does not change by the annealing, a small amount of interfacial Fe-O at the
lower Co-Fe-B / MgO interface is found in the as grown samples, which is
completely reduced after annealing at 275C. This is accompanied by a
simultaneous increase of the Fe magnetic moment and the tunnel
magnetoresistance. However, the TMR of the MgO based junctions increases
further for higher annealing temperature which can not be caused by Fe-O
reduction. The occurrence of an x-ray absorption near-edge structure above the
Fe and Co L-edges after annealing at 350C indicates the recrystallization of
the Co-Fe-B electrode. This is prerequisite for coherent tunneling and has been
suggested to be responsible for the further increase of the TMR above 275C.
Simultaneously, the B concentration in the Co-Fe-B decreases with increasing
annealing temperature, at least some of the B diffuses towards or into the MgO
barrier and forms a B2O3 oxide
Temperature-Dependent X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Colossal Magnetoresistive Perovskites
The temperature dependence of the O K-edge pre-edge structure in the x-ray
absorption spectra of the perovskites La(1-x)A(x)MnO(3), (A = Ca, Sr; x = 0.3,
0.4) reveals a correlation between the disappearance of the splitting in the
pre-edge region and the presence of Jahn-Teller distortions. The different
magnitudes of the distortions for different compounds is proposed to explain
some dissimilarity in the line shape of the spectra taken above the Curie
temperature.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. B, 5 pages, 3 figure
Strain driven anisotropic magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic LaSrMnO
We investigate the effects of strain on antiferromagntic (AFM) single crystal
thin films of LaSrMnO (x = 0.6). Nominally unstrained
samples have strong magnetoresistance with anisotropic magnetoresistances (AMR)
of up to 8%. Compressive strain suppresses magnetoresistance but generates AMR
values of up to 63%. Tensile strain presents the only case of a metal-insulator
transition and demonstrates a previously unreported AMR behavior. In all three
cases, we find evidence of magnetic ordering and no indication of a global
ferromagnetic phase transition. These behaviors are attributed to epitaxy
induced changes in orbital occupation driving different magnetic ordering
types. Our findings suggest that different AFM ordering types have a profound
impact on the AMR magnitude and character.Comment: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.489242
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Phase transitions and magnetic domain coexistence in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 thin films
We present a study of the physical properties of perovskite oxide Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 (NSMO) thin films grown on (110)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates. In bulk form, NSMO displays coupled magnetic and electronic transitions from paramagnetic/insulator to ferromagnetic (FM)/metal and then to antiferromagnetic (AFM)/charge-ordered insulator with decreasing temperature. In thin films, the AFM ordering only occurs when the films exist in an anisotropic strain state such as those obtained on (110)-oriented cubic substrates. In this work, resonant X-ray reflectivity, soft X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (X-PEEM), and magnetometry measurements showed that the NSMO film displays both vertical and lateral magnetic phase separation. Specifically, the film consists of three layers with different density and magnetic properties. The FM and AFM properties of the main NSMO layer were probed as a function of temperature using soft X-ray magnetic spectroscopy, and the coexistence of lateral FM and AFM domains was demonstrated at 110 K using X-PEEM
The role of hydrogen in room-temperature ferromagnetism at graphite surfaces
We present a x-ray dichroism study of graphite surfaces that addresses the
origin and magnitude of ferromagnetism in metal-free carbon. We find that, in
addition to carbon states, also hydrogen-mediated electronic states
exhibit a net spin polarization with significant magnetic remanence at room
temperature. The observed magnetism is restricted to the top 10 nm of
the irradiated sample where the actual magnetization reaches emu/g
at room temperature. We prove that the ferromagnetism found in metal-free
untreated graphite is intrinsic and has a similar origin as the one found in
proton bombarded graphite.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, submitted to New Journal of Physic
X-ray absorption study of the electronic structure of Mn-doped amorphous Si
The electronic structure of Mn in amorphous Si (a-Mn{sub x}Si{sub 1?x}) is studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Mn L{sub 3,2} edges for x = 0.005-0.18. Except the x = 0.005 sample, which shows a slight signature of Mn{sup 2+} atomic multiplets associated with a local Mn moment, all samples have broad and featureless L{sub 3,2} absorption peaks, corresponding to an itinerant state for all 3d electrons. The broad X-ray absorption spectra exclude the possibility of a localized 3d moment and explain the unexpectedly quenched Mn moment in this magnetically-doped amorphous semiconductor. Such a fully delocalized d state of Mn dopant in Si has not been previously suggested
Strain dependence of the Mn anisotropy in ferromagnetic semiconductors observed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
We demonstrate sensitivity of the Mn 3d valence states to strain in the
ferromagnetic semiconductors (Ga,Mn)As and (Al,Ga,Mn)As, using x-ray magnetic
circular dichroism (XMCD). The spectral shape of the Mn XMCD is
dependent on the orientation of the magnetization, and features with cubic and
uniaxial dependence are distinguished. Reversing the strain reverses the sign
of the uniaxial anisotropy of the Mn pre-peak which is ascribed to
transitions from the Mn 2p core level to p-d hybridized valence band hole
states. With increasing carrier localization, the pre-peak intensity
increases, indicating an increasing 3d character of the hybridized holes.Comment: 4 pages plus 2 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Electronic and magnetic structure of epitaxial NiO/FeO(001) heterostructures grown on MgO(001) and Nb-doped SrTiO(001)
We study the underlying chemical, electronic and magnetic properties of a
number of magnetite based thin films. The main focus is placed onto
NiO/FeO(001) bilayers grown on MgO(001) and Nb-SrTiO(001)
substrates. We compare the results with those obtained on pure FeO(001)
thin films. It is found that the magnetite layers are oxidized and Fe
dominates at the surfaces due to maghemite (-FeO) formation,
which decreases with increasing magnetite layer thickness. From a layer
thickness of around 20 nm on the cationic distribution is close to that of
stoichiometric FeO. At the interface between NiO and FeO we
find the Ni to be in a divalent valence state, with unambiguous spectral
features in the Ni 2p core level x-ray photoelectron spectra typical for NiO.
The formation of a significant NiFeO interlayer can be excluded by
means of XMCD. Magneto optical Kerr effect measurements reveal significant
higher coercive fields compared to magnetite thin films grown on MgO(001), and
a 45 rotated magnetic easy axis. We discuss the spin magnetic moments
of the magnetite layers and find that the moment increases with increasing thin
film thickness. At low thickness the NiO/FeO films grown on
Nb-SrTiO exhibits a significantly decreased spin magnetic moments. A
thickness of 20 nm or above leads to spin magnetic moments close to that of
bulk magnetite
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