35,387 research outputs found
Exchange coupling between magnetic layers across non-magnetic superlattices
The oscillation periods of the interlayer exchange coupling are investigated
when two magnetic layers are separated by a metallic superlattice of two
distinct non-magnetic materials. In spite of the conventional behaviour of the
coupling as a function of the spacer thickness, new periods arise when the
coupling is looked upon as a function of the number of cells of the
superlattice. The new periodicity results from the deformation of the
corresponding Fermi surface, which is explicitly related to a few controllable
parameters, allowing the oscillation periods to be tuned.Comment: 13 pages; 5 figures; To appear in J. Phys.: Cond. Matte
Modelling of epitaxial film growth with a Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier dependent on the step height
The formation of mounded surfaces in epitaxial growth is attributed to the
presence of barriers against interlayer diffusion in the terrace edges, known
as Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barriers. We investigate a model for epitaxial growth
using a ES barrier explicitly dependent on the step height. Our model has an
intrinsic topological step barrier even in the absence of an explicit ES
barrier. We show that mounded morphologies can be obtained even for a small
barrier while a self-affine growth, consistent with the Villain-Lai-Das Sarma
equation, is observed in absence of an explicit step barrier. The mounded
surfaces are described by a super-roughness dynamical scaling characterized by
locally smooth (faceted) surfaces and a global roughness exponent .
The thin film limit is featured by surfaces with self-assembled
three-dimensional structures having an aspect ratio (height/width) that may
increase or decrease with temperature depending on the strength of step
barrier.Comment: To appear in J. Phys. Cond. Matter; 3 movies as supplementary
materia
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