Magnetic properties of materials based on metastable Fe-Ni thin films

Metastabilní tenké vrstvy Fe78Ni22 na monokrystalickém substrátu Cu(100) jsou známy svou schopností strukturní a magnetické fázové přeměny indukované ozářením iontovým svazkem. Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá charakterizací magnetických vlastností vrstev Fe78Ni22 s důrazem na jejich anizotropní chování. V teoretické části je popsán analytický model popisující magnetické anizotropie v planárních strukturách a tenkých vrstvách i modifikace tohoto modelu pro systém Fe78Ni22/Cu(100). V experimentální části je nejprve podrobně prostudována anizotropie FeNi struktur transformovaných iontovým svazkem. Tyto vrstvy i struktury vykazují čtyřčetnou magnetickou anizotropii související s krystalovou bcc strukturou železa. Následně je ukázána možnost indukce uniaxiální anizotropie vhodnou strategií skenování iontovým svazkem během transformace. V poslední části práce je zjištěno nejvyšší laterální rozlišení magnetických struktur transformovaných fokusovaným iontovým svazkem a je připraven prototyp magnonického krystalu.Metastable Fe78Ni22 thin films grown on Cu(100) substrates are known for their capability of structural and magnetic phase transition upon ion beam irradiation. This thesis focuses on characterization of magnetic properties of FeNi layers with the emphasis on their anisotropic behaviour. An analytical model describing magnetic anisotropies, in planar structures and thin films, and its modification for Fe78Ni22/Cu(100) system is described in the theoretical part. In the experimental part, the anisotropy of ion-beam-transformed FeNi structures is thoroughly studied. The transformed films and patterns exhibit four-fold magnetic anisotropy originating from bcc iron crystal structure. Further, the possibility of modification of the magnetic anisotropy type by selecting a proper focused ion beam scanning strategy during the transformation is demonstrated. In the last part of the thesis, the maximum achievable lateral resolution of focused ion beam transformed structures is explored and a prototypical magnonic crystal is prepared.

Velocity enhancement by synchronization of magnetic domain walls

Magnetic domain walls are objects whose dynamics is inseparably connected to their structure. In this work we investigate magnetic bilayers, which are engineered such that a coupled pair of domain walls, one in each layer, is stabilized by a cooperation of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and flux-closing mechanism. The dipolar field mediating the interaction between the two domain walls, links not only their position but also their structure. We show that this link has a direct impact on their magnetic field induced dynamics. We demonstrate that in such a system the coupling leads to an increased domain wall velocity with respect to single domain walls. Since the domain wall dynamics is observed in a precessional regime, the dynamics involves the synchronization between the two walls, to preserve the flux closure during motion. Properties of these coupled oscillating walls can be tuned by an additional in-plane magnetic field enabling a rich variety of states, from perfect synchronization to complete detuning

Tuning domain wall velocity with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

We have studied a series of Pt/Co/M epitaxial trilayers, in which Co is sandwiched between Pt and a non magnetic layer M (Pt, Ir, Cu, Al). Using polar magneto-optical Kerr microscopy, we show that the field- induced domain wall speeds are strongly dependent on the nature of the top layer, they increase going from M=Pt to lighter top metallic overlayers, and can reach several 100 m/s for Pt/Co/Al. The DW dynamics is consistent with the presence of chiral N\'eel walls stabilized by interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) whose strength increases going from Pt to Al top layers. This is explained by the presence of DMI with opposite sign at the Pt/Co and Co/M interfaces, the latter increasing in strength going towards heavier atoms, possibly due to the increasing spin-orbit interaction. This work shows that in non-centrosymmetric trilayers the domain wall dynamics can be finely tuned by engineering the DMI strength, in view of efficient devices for logic and spitronics applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Figure

Research Update: Focused ion beam direct writing of magnetic patterns with controlled structural and magnetic properties

Focused ion beam irradiation of metastable Fe78Ni22 thin films grown on Cu(100) substrates is used to create ferromagnetic, body-centered cubic patterns embedded into paramagnetic, face-centered-cubic surrounding. The structural and magnetic phase transformation can be controlled by varying parameters of the transforming gallium ion beam. The focused ion beam parameters such as the ion dose, number of scans, and scanning direction can be used not only to control a degree of transformation but also to change the otherwise four-fold in-plane magnetic anisotropy into the uniaxial anisotropy along a specific crystallographic direction. This change is associated with a preferred growth of specific crystallographic domains. The possibility to create magnetic patterns with continuous magnetization transitions and at the same time to create patterns with periodical changes in magnetic anisotropy makes this system an ideal candidate for rapid prototyping of a large variety of nanostructured samples. Namely, spin-wave waveguides and magnonic crystals can be easily combined into complex devices in a single fabrication ste

Spin wave excitation and propagation in magnonic crystals prepared by focused ion beam direct writing

Paramagnetické niklem stabilizované tenké vrstvy plošně centrovaného kubického Fe, epitaxně narostené na monokrystalickém substrátu Cu(100) jsou známy svou schopností strukturní a magnetické fázové přeměny při ozáření iontovým svazkem, a to do prostorově centrované kubické struktury charakteristické feromagnetickými vlastnostmi. Monokrystalický Cu(100) substrát je možné také nahradit Si(100) s mezivrstvou Cu(100). Pomocí fokusovaného iontového svazku lze dále snadno lokálně modifikovat magnetické vlastnosti ozařované vrstvy. Tato metoda přímého zápisu magnetických struktur je alternativou k běžným litografickým technikám, nabízející nové jimi nedosažitelné možnosti. Připravené magnetické struktury následně využíváme k propagaci spinových vln. V práci je představen celý proces od růstu vrstev, přes přípravu mikrostruktur, až po studium jejich struktury a statických i dynamických magnetických vlastností. S využitím vektorového síťového analyzátoru studujeme ve vrstvách a v mikrostrukturách připravených fokusovaným iontovým svazkem feromagnetickou rezonanci a propagující se spinové vlny. Zdrojem spinových vln o definovaných vlnových vektorech jsou litograficky připravené koplanární vlnovody, sloužící také k induktivní detekci vln. Pomocí feromagnetické rezonance kvantitativně určujeme materiálové charakteristiky jako jsou saturační magnetizace a parametr útlumu a ze spekter propagujících módů následně určujeme charakteristiky spinových vln, které porovnáváme s dalšími feromagnetickými materiály.Paramagnetic Ni-stabilized fcc Fe thin films epitaxially grown on Cu(100) are known for their capability to undergo ion-beam-induced phase transformation into ferromagnetic bcc phase. To bring these metastable films closer to the application, a Cu(100) substrate can be further substituted by Si(100) with a Cu(100) buffer layer. With the use of a focused ion beam, magnetic properties of the films can be locally tailored and modulated. Moreover, this alternative approach to the preparation of media suitable for spin-wave guidance provides patterning possibilities unattainable by conventional lithography techniques. Magnetic structures prepared in this way are studied by all-electrical spin-wave spectroscopy. This thesis covers the entire process from the metastable thin film growth, through the patterning, to structural studies and static and dynamic magnetic characterization. A broadband ferromagnetic resonance and propagating spin wave spectroscopy experiments are performed on focused-ion-beam-transformed continuous layers and microstructures. Microscale coplanar waveguides are used for inductive excitation and detection of spin waves with defined wavevectors. Magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization and damping are extracted from the ferromagnetic resonance measurements and characteristics of the propagating modes such as spin-wave decay length or group velocity are studied and compared with common ferromagnetic materials.

Large-Voltage Tuning of Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interactions: A Route toward Dynamic Control of Skyrmion Chirality

17 pages, 4 figuresInternational audienceElectric control of magnetism is a prerequisite for efficient and low power spintronic devices. More specifically, in heavy metal/ ferromagnet/ insulator heterostructures, voltage gating has been shown to locally and dynamically tune magnetic properties like interface anisotropy and saturation magnetization. However, its effect on interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI), which is crucial for the stability of magnetic skyrmions, has been challenging to achieve and has not been reported yet for ultrathin films. Here, we demonstrate 130% variation of DMI with electric field in Ta/FeCoB/TaOx trilayers through Brillouin Light Spectroscopy (BLS). Using polar- Magneto-Optical-Kerr-Effect microscopy, we further show a monotonic variation of DMI and skyrmionic bubble size with electric field, with an unprecedented efficiency. We anticipate through our observations that a sign reversal of DMI with electric field is possible, leading to a chirality switch. This dynamic manipulation of DMI establishes an additional degree of control to engineer programmable skyrmion based memory or logic devices