38 research outputs found
Effects of hydrogen/deuterium absorption on the magnetic properties of Co/Pd multilayers
The effects of hydrogen (H2) and deuterium (D2) absorption were studied in
two Co/Pd multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) using
polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR). PNR was measured in an external magnetic
field H applied in the plane of the sample with the magnetization M confined in
the plane for {\mu}_o H= 6.0 T and partially out of plane at 0.65 T. Nominal
thicknesses of the Co and Pd layers were 2.5 {\AA} and 21 {\AA}, respectively.
Because of these small values, the actual layer chemical composition,
thickness, and interface roughness parameters were determined from the nuclear
scattering length density profile ({\rho}_n) and its derivative obtained from
both x-ray reflectivity and PNR, and uncertainties were determined using Monte
Carlo analysis. The PNR {\rho}_n showed that although D2 absorption occurred
throughout the samples, absorption in the multilayer stack was modest (0.02 D
per Pd atom) and thus did not expand. Direct magnetometry showed that H2
absorption decreased the total M at saturation and increased the component of M
in the plane of the sample when not at saturation. The PNR magnetic scattering
length density ({\rho}_m) revealed that the Pd layers in the multilayer stack
were magnetized and that their magnetization was preferentially modified upon
D2 absorption. In one sample, a modulation of M with twice the multilayer
period was observed at {\mu}_o H= 0.65 T, which increased upon D2 absorption.
These results indicate that H2 or D2 absorption decreases both the PMA and
total magnetization of the samples. The lack of measurable expansion during
absorption indicates that these changes are primarily governed by modification
of the electronic structure of the material.Comment: to appear in Physics review B, 201
Generation and detection of spin-orbit coupled neutron beams
Spin-orbit coupling of light has come to the fore in nano-optics and
plasmonics, and is a key ingredient of topological photonics and chiral quantum
optics. We demonstrate a basic tool for incorporating analogous effects into
neutron optics: the generation and detection of neutron beams with coupled spin
and orbital angular momentum. He neutron spin-filters are used in
conjunction with specifically oriented triangular coils to prepare neutron
beams with lattices of spin-orbit correlations, as demonstrated by their
spin-dependant intensity profiles. These correlations can be tailored to
particular applications, such as neutron studies of topological materials
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
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
Origin of the reduced exchange bias in epitaxial FeNi(111)/CoO(111) bilayer
We have employed Soft and Hard X-ray Resonant Magnetic Scattering and
Polarised Neutron Diffraction to study the magnetic interface and the bulk
antiferromagnetic domain state of the archetypal epitaxial
NiFe(111)/CoO(111) exchange biased bilayer. The combination of
these scattering tools provides unprecedented detailed insights into the still
incomplete understanding of some key manifestations of the exchange bias
effect. We show that the several orders of magnitude difference between the
expected and measured value of exchange bias field is caused by an almost
anisotropic in-plane orientation of antiferromagnetic domains. Irreversible
changes of their configuration lead to a training effect. This is directly seen
as a change in the magnetic half order Bragg peaks after magnetization
reversal. A 30 nm size of antiferromagnetic domains is extracted from the width
the (1/2 1/2 1/2) antiferromagnetic magnetic peak measured both by neutron and
x-ray scattering. A reduced blocking temperature as compared to the measured
antiferromagnetic ordering temperature clearly corresponds to the blocking of
antiferromagnetic domains. Moreover, an excellent correlation between the size
of the antiferromagnetic domains, exchange bias field and frozen-in spin ratio
is found, providing a comprehensive understanding of the origin of exchange
bias in epitaxial systems.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitte
Incommensurate magnetic order in the alpha-Fe(Te,Se) superconductor systems
Magnetic spin fluctuations is one candidate to produce the bosonic modes that
mediate the superconductivity in the ferrous superconductors. Up until now, all
of the LaOFeAs and BaFe2As2 structure types have simple commensurate magnetic
ground states, as result of nesting Fermi surfaces. This type of
spin-density-wave (SDW) magnetic order is known to be vulnerable to shifts in
the Fermi surface when electronic densities are altered at the superconducting
compositions. Superconductivity has more recently been discovered in
alpha-Fe(Te,Se), whose electronically active antifluorite planes are
isostructural to the FeAs layers found in the previous ferrous superconductors
and share with them the same quasi-two-dimensional electronic structure. Here
we report neutron scattering studies that reveal a unique complex
incommensurate antiferromagnetic order in the parent compound alpha-FeTe. When
the long-range magnetic order is suppressed by the isovalent substitution of Te
with Se, short-range correlations survive in the superconducting phase.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Magnetic proximity effects in V/Fe superconductor/ferromagnet single bilayer revealed by waveguide-enhanced polarized neutron reflectometry
Polarized neutron reflectometry is used to study the magnetic proximity
effect in a superconductor/ferromagnet (SC/FM) system of composition
Cu(32nm)/V(40nm)/Fe(1nm)/MgO. In contrast to previous studies, here a single
SC/FM bilayer, is studied and multilayer artefacts are excluded. The necessary
signal enhancement is achieved by waveguide resonance, i.e. preparing the
V(40nm)/Fe(1nm) SC/FM bilayer sandwiched by the highly reflective MgO substrate
and Cu top layer, respectively . A new magnetic state of the system was
observed at temperatures below 0.7 TC. manifested in a systematic change in the
height and width of the waveguide resonance peak. Upon increasing the
temperature from 0.7 TC to TC, a gradual decay of this state is observed,
accompanied by a 5% growth of the diffuse scattering. According to theoretical
studies, such behavior is the result of the magnetic proximity effect. Due to
the presence of the thin FM layer the superconducting electrons are polarized
and, as a result, near the SC/FM interface an additional magnetic layer appears
in the SC with thickness comparable to ksi, the coherence length of the
superconductor.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism. 11
pages, 6 figures
Upper limit to magnetism in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures
Using polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) we measured the neutron spin
dependent reflectivity from four LaAlO3/SrTiO3 superlattices. This experiment
implies that the upper limit for the magnetization induced by an 11 T magnetic
field at 1.7 K is 2 emu/cm3. SQUID magnetometry of the superlattices
sporadically finds an enhanced moment, possibly due to experimental artifacts.
These observations set important restrictions on theories which imply a
strongly enhanced magnetism at the interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3
High temperature superconductivity (Tc onset at 34K) in the high pressure orthorhombic phase of FeSe
We have studied the structural and superconducting properties of tetragonal
FeSe under pressures up to 26GPa using synchrotron radiation and diamond anvil
cells. The bulk modulus of the tetragonal phase is 28.5(3)GPa, much smaller
than the rest of Fe based superconductors. At 12GPa we observe a phase
transition from the tetragonal to an orthorhombic symmetry. The high pressure
orthorhombic phase has a higher Tc reaching 34K at 22GPa.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure