68 research outputs found
Bottom-up fabrication of highly ordered metal nanostructures by hierarchical self-assembly
In a hierarchical nanopatterning routine relying exclusively on self-assembly
processes we combine crystal surface reconstruction, microphase separation of
copolymers, and selective metal diffusion to produce monodisperse metal
nanostructures in highly regular arrays covering areas of square centimeters.
In-situ GISAXS during Fe nanostructure formation evidences the outstanding
structural order in the self-assembling system and hints at possibilities of
sculpting nanostructures by external process parameters. Thus, we demonstrate
that nanopatterning via self-assembly is a competitive alternative to
lithography-based routines, achieving comparable pattern regularity, feature
size, and patterned areas with considerably reduced effort. The option for
in-situ investigations during pattern formation, the possibility of customizing
the nanostructure morphology, the capacity to pattern arbitrarily large areas
with ultra-high structure densities, and the potential of addressing the
nanostructures individually enable numerous applications, e.g., in high-density
magnetic data storage, in functional nanostructured materials, e.g., for
photonics or catalysis, or in sensing based on surface plasmon resonances.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, 1 tabl
Nuclear resonant surface diffraction
Nuclear resonant x-ray diffraction in grazing incidence geometry is used to
determine the lateral magnetic configuration in a one-dimensional lattice of
ferromagnetic nanostripes. During magnetic reversal, strong nuclear
superstructure diffraction peaks appear in addition to the electronic ones due
to an antiferromagnetic order in the nanostripe lattice. We show that the
analysis of the angular distribution of the resonantly diffracted x-rays
together with the time-dependence of the coherently diffracted nuclear signal
reveals surface spin structures with very high sensitivity. This novel
scattering technique provides a unique access to laterally correlated spin
configurations in magnetically ordered nanostructures and, in perspective, also
to their dynamics
Spin precession mapping at ferromagnetic resonance via nuclear resonant scattering
We probe the spin dynamics in a thin magnetic film at ferromagnetic resonance
by nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation at the 14.4 keV
resonance of Fe. The precession of the magnetization leads to an
apparent reduction of the magnetic hyperfine field acting at the Fe
nuclei. The spin dynamics is described in a stochastic relaxation model adapted
to the ferromagnetic resonance theory by Smit and Beljers to model the decay of
the excited nuclear state. From the fits of the measured data the shape of the
precession cone of the spins is determined. Our results open a new perspective
to determine magnetization dynamics in layered structures with very high depth
resolution by employing ultrathin isotopic probe layers
Effect of dopants on thermal stability and self-diffusion in iron nitride thin films
We studied the effect of dopants (Al, Ti, Zr) on the thermal stability of
iron nitride thin films prepared using a dc magnetron sputtering technique.
Structure and magnetic characterization of deposited samples reveal that the
thermal stability together with soft magnetic properties of iron nitride thin
films get significantly improved with doping. To understand the observed
results, detailed Fe and N self-diffusion measurements were performed. It was
observed that N self-diffusion gets suppressed with Al doping whereas Ti or Zr
doping results in somewhat faster N diffusion. On the other hand Fe
self-diffusion seems to get suppressed with any dopant of which heat of nitride
formation is significantly smaller than that of iron nitride. Importantly, it
was observed that N self-diffusion plays only a trivial role, as compared to Fe
self-diffusion, in affecting the thermal stability of iron nitride thin films.
Based on the obtained results effect of dopants on self-diffusion process is
discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 9 fig
Origin of exchange bias in [Co/Pt]ML/Fe multilayer with orthogonal magnetic anisotropies
Magnetization reversal of soft ferromagnetic Fe layer, coupled to [Co/Pt]ML
multilayer [ML] with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), has been studied
in-situ with an aim to understand the origin of exchange bias (EB) in
orthogonal magnetic anisotropic systems. The interface remanant state of the ML
is modified by magnetic field annealing, and the effect of the same on the soft
Fe layer is monitored using the in-situ magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). A
considerable shift in the Fe layer hysteresis loop from the centre and an
unusual increase in the coercivity, similar to exchange bias phenomena, is
attributed to the exchange coupling at the [Co/Pt]ML and Fe interface. The
effect of the coupling on spin orientation at the interface is further explored
precisely by performing an isotope selective grazing incident nuclear resonance
scattering (GINRS) technique. Here, the interface selectivity is achieved by
introducing a 2 nm thick Fe57 marker between [Co/Pt]ML and Fe layers. Interface
sensitivity is further enhanced by performing measurements under the x-ray
standing wave conditions. The combined MOKE and GINRS analysis revealed the
unidirectional pinning of the Fe layer due to the net in-plane magnetic spin at
the interface caused by magnetic field annealing. Unidirectional exchange
coupling or pinning at the interface, which may be due to the formation of
asymmetrical closure domains, is found responsible for the origin of EB with an
unusual increase in coercivity.Comment: 9 figures, 1 tabl
Quantum Imaging with Incoherently Scattered Light from a Free-Electron Laser
The advent of accelerator-driven free-electron lasers (FEL) has opened new
avenues for high-resolution structure determination via diffraction methods
that go far beyond conventional x-ray crystallography methods. These techniques
rely on coherent scattering processes that require the maintenance of
first-order coherence of the radiation field throughout the imaging procedure.
Here we show that higher-order degrees of coherence, displayed in the intensity
correlations of incoherently scattered x-rays from an FEL, can be used to image
two-dimensional objects with a spatial resolution close to or even below the
Abbe limit. This constitutes a new approach towards structure determination
based on incoherent processes, including Compton scattering, fluorescence
emission or wavefront distortions, generally considered detrimental for imaging
applications. Our method is an extension of the landmark intensity correlation
measurements of Hanbury Brown and Twiss to higher than second-order paving the
way towards determination of structure and dynamics of matter in regimes where
coherent imaging methods have intrinsic limitations
- …