49 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
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
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
Tunable (δπ, δπ)-Type Antiferromagnetic Order in α-Fe(Te,Se) Superconductors
The new α-Fe(Te,Se) superconductors share the common iron building block and ferminology with the LaFeAsO and BaFe2As2 families of superconductors. In contrast with the predicted commensurate spin-density-wave order at the nesting wave vector (π, 0), a completely different magnetic order with a composition tunable propagation vector (δπ, δπ) was determined for the parent compound Fe1+yTe in this powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction study. The new antiferromagnetic order survives as a short-range one even in the highest TC sample. An alternative to the prevailing nesting Fermi surface mechanism is required to understand the latest family of ferrous superconductors
Effect of Interface Induced Exchange Fields on Cuprate-Manganite Spin Switches
We examine the anomalous inverse spin switch behavior in
LaCaMnO (LCMO)/YBaCuO (YBCO)/LCMO
trilayers by combined transport studies and polarized neutron reflectometry.
Measuring magnetization profiles and magnetoresistance in an in-plane rotating
magnetic field, we prove that, contrary to many accepted theoretical scenarios,
the relative orientation between the two LCMO's magnetizations is not
sufficient to determine the magnetoresistance. Rather the field dependence of
magnetoresistance is explained by the interplay between the applied magnetic
field and the (exponential tail of the) induced exchange field in YBCO, the
latter originating from the electronic reconstruction at the LCMO/YBCO
interfaces.Comment: Total 7 pages,with Supplemental Material. Accepted for publication in
Physical Review Letter