58 research outputs found
Polarized neutron channeling as a tool for the investigations of weakly magnetic thin films
We present and apply a new method to measure directly weak magnetization in
thin films. The polarization of a neutron beam channeling through a thin film
structure is measured after exiting the structure edge as a microbeam. We have
applied the method to a tri-layer thin film structure acting as a planar
waveguide for polarized neutrons. The middle guiding layer is a rare earth
based ferrimagnetic material TbCo5 with a low magnetization of about 20 mT. We
demonstrate that the channeling method is more sensitive than the specular
neutron reflection method
Peculiarities of neutron waveguides with thin Gd layer
Peculiarities of the formation of a neutron enhanced standing wave in the
structure with a thin highly absorbing layer of gadolinium are considered in
the article. An analogue of the poisoning effect well known in reactor physics
was found. The effect is stronger for the Nb/Gd/Nb system. Despite of this
effect, for a Nb/Gd bilayer and a Nb/Gd/Nb trilayer placed between Al2O3
substrate and Cu layer, it is shown theoretically and experimentally that one
order of magnitude enhancement of neutron density is possible in the vicinity
of the Gd layer. This enhancement makes it possible to study domain formation
in the Gd layer under transition of the Nb layer(s) into the superconducting
state (cryptoferromagnetic phase).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
On the feasibility to study inverse proximity effect in a single S/F bilayer by Polarized Neutron Reflectometry
Here we report on a feasibility study aiming to explore the potential of
Polarized Neutron Reflectometry (PNR) for detecting the inverse proximity
effect in a single superconducting/ferromagnetic bilayer. Experiments,
conducted on the V(40nm)/Fe(1nm) S/F bilayer, have shown that experimental spin
asymmetry measured at T = 0.5TC is shifted towards higher Q values compared to
the curve measured at T = 1.5TC. Such a shift can be described by the
appearance in superconducting vanadium of magnetic sub-layer with thickness of
7 nm and magnetization of +0.8 kG.Comment: Changes in the 2nd version: small mistypes are corrected. Manuscript
submitted to JETP let. 4 pages, 2 figure
Evidence for spin-triplet superconducting correlations in metal-oxide heterostructures with non-collinear magnetization
Heterostructures composed of ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3, ferromagnetic
SrRuO3, and superconducting YBa2Cu3Ox were studied experimentally. Structures
of composition Au/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrRuO3/YBa2Cu3Ox were prepared by pulsed laser
deposition, and their high quality was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and
reflectometry. A non-collinear magnetic state of the heterostructures was
revealed by means of SQUID magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry. We
have further observed superconducting currents in mesa-structures fabricated by
deposition of a second superconducting Nb layer on top of the heterostructure,
followed by patterning with photolithography and ion-beam etching. Josephson
effects observed in these mesa-structures can be explained by the penetration
of a triplet component of the superconducting order parameter into the magnetic
layers.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
On the Explanation of the Paramagnetic Meissner Effect in Superconductor/Ferromagnet Heterostructures
An increase of the magnetic moment in superconductor/ferromagnet (S/F)
bilayers V(40nm)/F [FFe(1,3nm), Co(3nm), Ni(3nm)] was observed using SQUID
magnetometry upon cooling below the superconducting transition temperature Tc
in magnetic fields of 10 Oe to 50 Oe applied parallel to the sample surface. A
similar increase, often called the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME), was
observed before in various superconductors and superconductor/ferromagnet
systems. To explain the PME effect in the presented S/F bilayers a model based
on a row of vortices located at the S/F interface is proposed. According to the
model the magnetic moment induced below Tc consists of the paramagnetic
contribution of the vortex cores and the diamagnetic contribution of the
vortex-free region of the S layer. Since the thickness of the S layer is found
to be 3-4 times less than the magnetic field penetration depth, this latter
diamagnetic contribution is negligible. The model correctly accounts for the
sign, the approximate magnitude and the field dependence of the paramagnetic
and the Meissner contributions of the induced magnetic moment upon passing the
superconducting transition of a ferromagnet/superconductor bilayer
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