Structural peculiarities of ε\varepsilon-Fe2_2O3_3 / GaN epitaxial layers unveiled by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and neutron reflectometry

The present paper is dedicated to the structural study of crystallographic peculiarities appearing in epitaxial films of metastable epsilon iron oxide ($\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$) grown by pulsed laser deposition onto a semiconductor GaN (0001) substrate. The columnar structure of the nanoscale $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ films has been for the first time investigated using high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) direct space technique complemented by reciprocal space methods of high-energy electron diffraction and color-enhanced HRTEM image Fourier filtering. The study of $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ / GaN interface formation has been further expanded by carrying out a depth resolved analysis of density and chemical composition by neutron reflectometry and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The obtained results shed light onto the properties and the origin of the enigmatic few-nanometer thick low density transition layer residing at the $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ / GaN interface. A detailed knowledge of the properties of this layer is believed to be highly important for the development of $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ / GaN heterostructures that can potentially become part of the iron-oxide based ferroic-on-semiconductor devices with room temperature magneto-electric coupling.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Mesostructure and Magnetic Properties of SiO2-Co Granular Film on Silicon Substrate

Granular films SiO2(Co) exhibit unusual magnetic and magnetotransport properties which are strongly dependent on the composition of the film and material of a substrate. For example, the injection magnetoresistance (IMR) coefficient reaches a giant (GIMR) value of 105% at room temperature in SiO2(Co) films on an n-GaAs substrate. However, the IMR effect is negligible in the case of a similar granular film deposited on the n-Si substrate. In this report, the structural and magnetic properties of granular film SiO2(Co) on Si substrate are studied with the aim to understand the cause of the difference in IMR coefficients for SiO2(Co) thin film deposited on n-GaAs and on n-Si substrates. Investigations were carried out using complementary methods of Polarized Neutron Reflectometry, Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, X-ray Reflectometry, Scanning Electron Microscope, and SQUID magnetometry. It is shown that the interface layer between the granular film and Si substrate exhibits metallic rather than magnetic properties and eliminates the GIMR effect. This interface layer is associated with the Si diffusion to Co nanoparticles and the formation of the metallic cobalt silicides

Mesostructure and Magnetic Properties of SiO2-Co Granular Film on Silicon Substrate

Granular films SiO2(Co) exhibit unusual magnetic and magnetotransport properties which are strongly dependent on the composition of the film and material of a substrate. For example, the injection magnetoresistance (IMR) coefficient reaches a giant (GIMR) value of 10(5)% at room temperature in SiO2(Co) films on an n-GaAs substrate. However, the IMR effect is negligible in the case of a similar granular film deposited on the n-Si substrate. In this report, the structural and magnetic properties of granular film SiO2(Co) on Si substrate are studied with the aim to understand the cause of the difference in IMR coefficients for SiO2(Co) thin film deposited on n-GaAs and on n-Si substrates. Investigations were carried out using complementary methods of Polarized Neutron Reflectometry, Grazing Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, X-ray Reflectometry, Scanning Electron Microscope, and SQUID magnetometry. It is shown that the interface layer between the granular film and Si substrate exhibits metallic rather than magnetic properties and eliminates the GIMR effect. This interface layer is associated with the Si diffusion to Co nanoparticles and the formation of the metallic cobalt silicides

Small-angle neutron scattering study of mesoscale magnetic disordering and skyrmion phase suppression in the frustrated chiral magnet Co6.75Zn6.75Mn6.51

Co-Zn-Mn chiral cubic magnets display versatile magnetic skyrmion phases, including equilibrium phases stable far above and far below room temperature, and the facile creation of robust far-from-equilibrium skyrmion states. In this system, compositional disorder and magnetic frustration are key ingredients that have profound effects on the chiral magnetism. Reported here are studies of the magnetism in Co6.75Zn6.75Mn6.5 by magnetometry, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), magnetic diffuse neutron scattering and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM). While features in magnetometry and LTEM often give standard indications for skyrmion formation, they are not readily observed from the measurements on this system. Instead, skyrmion lattice correlations are only revealed by SANS, and they are found to form an orientationally disordered structure in a minority fraction of the sample. The majority fraction of the sample always displays orientationally disordered helical spin correlations, which undergo further disordering along the radial direction on cooling below the critical temperature (T-c similar or equal to 102 K). The near-complete suppression of the skyrmion phase, and the process of disordering on cooling, are attributed to competing magnetic interactions that dominate over the ferromagnetic interaction expected to favour chiral magnetism in this system. These competing interactions start to develop above T-c and become further enhanced towards low temperatures. The present observations of co-existing and disordered magnetic correlations over multiple length scales are not unique to Co6.75Zn6.75Mn6.5 but are seemingly common to the family of Co-Zn-Mn compounds with finite Mn, and their accurate description presents a challenge for theoretical modelling. In addition, this study highlights a need for neutron instrumentation capable of the comprehensive measurement of magnetic correlations over expanded ranges of momentum transfer in such multiplelength-scale magnets