Magnetoelasticity in dysprosium-scandium superlattices

Abstract

We have studied the magnetoelastic stress parameter, Bγ,2, associated with the shear deformation within the basal plane of the (0 0 0 1) Dy (20 Å)/Sc (t=20–60 Å) superlattices (SLs). The extrapolated Bγ,2(0 K) values change from 1.45 to 0.9 GPa when t changes from 60 to 20 Å, respectively. All SLs show a thermal behavior of Bγ,2 affected by volume and interfacial contributions. The scandium thickness dependence of the volume contribution shows a surprisingly logarithmic behavior that indicates the existence of dislocations in the Dy blocks