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351 records · Page 20

Antiferromagnetic V 2 ⁢O 3 based exchange coupling

Vanadium sesquioxide (V 2 ⁢O 3 ) is a strongly correlated electronic material that famously undergoes a triple coupled first-order transition where it transitions from a paramagnetic metal with a rhombohedral structure at high temperature to an antiferromagnetic insulator with a monoclinic structure. While several studies have used one of both electronic and structural transitions to control the properties of a heterostructure, evidence of magnetic coupling has notoriously yet to be found. In this paper, we report on a robust magnetic coupling between the antiferromagnetic (AFM) V 2 ⁢O 3 and ferromagnetic (FM) Permalloy (Py) layers that results in a significant exchange bias and strain-induced coercivity enhancement. We provide a temperature and angle-dependent study of magnetic properties, which clearly indicates exchange bias at the AFM/FM interface that appears at the onset of the metal-insulator transition. The magnitude of the exchange bias is strongest when the field is applied along the [001] V 2 ⁢O 3 crystallographic orientation which corresponds to an AFM spin configuration on the [110] surface. Here, this opens the door to designing and implementing novel functionalities in transition metal oxide-based computing using the connection between magnetism and the metal-insulator transition.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Nanoscale imaging of Gilbert damping using signal amplitude mapping

Ferromagnetic resonance force microscopy (FMRFM) is a powerful scanned probe technique that uses sub-micrometer-scale, spatially localized standing spin wave modes (LMs) to perform local ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements. In this work, we show the spatially resolved imaging of Gilbert damping in a ferromagnetic material (FM) using FMRFM. Typically damping is measured from the FMR linewidth. We demonstrate an approach to image the spatial variation of Gilbert damping utilizing the LM resonance peak height to measure the LM resonance cone angle. This approach enables determination of damping through field-swept FMRFM at a single excitation frequency. The extreme force sensitivity of similar to 2 fN at room temperature can resolve changes of Gilbert damping as small as ~2 x 10 -4 at 2GHz, corresponding to ~0.16Oe in FMR linewidth resolution. This high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, and single frequency imaging of Gilbert damping creates the opportunity to study spin interactions at the interface between an insulating FM and a small volume of nonmagnetic material such as atomically thin two-dimensional materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Trions in twisted bilayer graphene

The strong-coupling phase diagram of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) predicts a series of exact one-particle charge ±1 gapped excitations on top of the integer-filled ferromagnetic ground states. Finite-size exact diagonalization studies showed that these are the lowest charge ±1 excitations in the system (for 10 nm screening length), with the exception of charge +1 at filling -1 in the chiral limit. In the current paper we show that this “trion bound state,” a 3-particle, charge 1 excitation of the insulating ferromagnetic ground state of the projected Hamiltonian of TBG, is the lowest charge +1 overall excitation at ν =-1, and also for some large (≈20 nm) screening lengths at ν =-2 in the chiral limit and with very small binding energy. At other fillings, we show that trion bound states do exist, but only for momentum ranges that do not cover the entire moiré Brillouin zone. The trion bound states (at different momenta) exist for finite parameter range w 0 /w 1 but they all disappear in the continuum far below the realistic values of w 0 /w 1 = 0.8. Thus we find the conditions for the existence of the trion bound state, a good variational wave function for it, and investigate its behavior for different screening lengths, at all integer fillings, on both the electron and hole sides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Unraveling the origin of antiferromagnetic coupling at YIG/permalloy interface

We investigate the structural and electronic origin of antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling in the yttrium iron garnet (YIG) and permalloy (Ni 80 ⁢Fe 20 , Py) bilayer system at the atomic level. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra reveal unique hybrid modes in samples prepared with surface ion milling, indicative of antiferromagnetic exchange coupling at the YIG/Py interface. Using atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we found that AFM coupling appears at the YIG/Py interface of the tetrahedral YIG surface formed with ion milling. Here, the STEM measurements suggest that the interfacial AFM coupling is predominantly driven by an oxygen-mediated superexchange coupling mechanism, which is confirmed by the density-functional theory (DFT) calculations to be energetically favorable. Thus, the combined experimental and theoretical results reveal the critical role of interfacial atomic structure in determining the type of magnetic coupling in a YIG/ferromagnet heterostructure, and prove that the interfacial structure can be experimentally tuned by surface ion milling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Competing magnetic phases in Cr 3+𝛿 ⁢Te 4 are spatially segregated

Cr 1+𝑥⁢ Te 2 is a self-intercalated van der Waals system that is of current interest for its room-temperature room-temperature ferromagnetic (FM) phases and tunable topological properties. In bulk samples, the strain from the interstitial Cr ions leads to distinct structural phases for different ranges of 𝑥. Early neutron powder diffraction (NPD) measurements on the monoclinic phase Cr 3 ⁢Te 4 (𝑥=0.5) presented evidence for competing FM and antiferromagnetic (AFM) phases. Here we apply neutron diffraction to a single crystal of Cr 3+𝛿 ⁢Te 4 with 𝛿=−0.10 and discover that it consists of two distinct monoclinic phases, one with FM order below 𝑇 C ≈321 K and another that develops AFM order below 𝑇 N ≈86 K. In contrast, we find that a crystal with 𝛿=−0.26 exhibits only FM order below 𝑇 C ≈285 K. The single-crystal analysis is complemented by results obtained with NPD, x-ray powder diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements on the 𝛿=−0.10 composition. From observations of spontaneous magnetostriction of opposite sign at 𝑇 C and 𝑇 N , along with the TEM evidence for both monoclinic phases in a single thin ( ≈100 nm) grain, we conclude that the two phases must have a fine-grained ( ≲100 nm) intergrowth character, as might occur from high-temperature spinodal decomposition during the growth process. Calculations of the relaxed lattice structures for the FM and AFM phases with density functional theory provide a rationalization of the observed spontaneous magnetostrictions. Correlations between the magnitude and orientation of the magnetic moments with lattice parameter variation demonstrate that the magnetic orders are sensitive to strain, thus explaining why magnetic ordering temperatures and anisotropies can be different between bulk and thin-film samples, when the latter are subject to epitaxial strain. Our results point to the need to investigate the supposed coexistence FM and AFM phases reported elsewhere in the Cr 1+𝑥 ⁢Te 2 system, such as in the Cr 5 ⁢Te 8 phase (𝑥=0.25).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Antiferromagnetic Parametric Resonance Driven by Voltage-Controlled Magnetic Anisotropy

Voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) is a low-energy alternative to manipulate the ferromagnetic state, which has been recently also considered in antiferromagnets (AFMs). Here, we theoretically demonstrate that VCMA can be used to excite linear and parametric resonant modes in easy-axis AFMs with perpendicular anisotropy, thus opening the way for an efficient electrical control of the Néel vector and for the detection of high-frequency dynamics. Our work leads to two key results: (i) VCMA parametric pumping experiences the so-called “exchange enhancement” of the coupling efficiency and, thus, is 1–2 orders of magnitude more efficient than microwave magnetic fields or spin-orbit torques, and (ii) it also allows for zero-field parametric resonance, which cannot be achieved by other parametric pumping mechanisms in AFMs with an out-of-plane easy axis. Therefore, we demonstrate that VCMA parametric pumping is the most promising method for coherent excitation and manipulation of AFM order in perpendicular easy-axis AFMs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Characterization of Mn 5 Ge 3 Contacts on a Shallow Ge/SiGe Heterostructure

Mn 5 Ge 3 is a ferromagnetic phase of the Mn-Ge system that is a potential contact material for efficient spin injection and detection. Here, we investigate the creation of Mn 5 Ge 3 -based contacts on a Ge/SiGe quantum well heterostructure via solid-state synthesis. X-ray diffraction spectra fitting indicates the formation of Mn 5 Ge 3 -based contacts on bulk Ge and Ge/SiGe. High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy verify the correct Mn 5 Ge 3 -based phase formation. Schottky diode measurements, transmission line measurements, and Hall measurements reveal that Mn 5 Ge 3 -based contacts serve as good p-type contacts for Ge/SiGe quantum well heterostructures due to having a low Schottky barrier height of 0.10 eV (extracted from a Mn 5 Ge 3 /n-Ge analogue) and a contact resistance in the order of 1 kΩ. Furthermore, we show that these electrical characteristics have a gate-voltage dependence, thereby providing tunability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Evidence for Rashba magnetism in ultrathin ferromagnet–heavy metal bilayers

Here, we show that ultrathin transition ferromagnet–heavy metal bilayers exhibit anomalous temperature- and electric bias-dependent behaviors near the Curie temperature, inconsistent with the usual Weiss magnetism. Characterization by several complementary techniques and analysis of the dependence on composition reveal that these effects originate from the interplay between interfacial spin-orbit interaction and magnetism, resulting in the emergence of a state with distinct magnetic and magnetoelectronic properties that can be described in the framework of the Rashba model as Rashba magnetism. Our findings open a route for the characterization and control of interfacial spin-orbit phenomena for efficient spin-orbitronic devices.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Spin-flop coupling at L⁢a 0.5 ⁢S⁢r 0.5 ⁢Fe⁢O 3 /L⁢a 0.7⁢ S⁢r 0.3 ⁢Mn⁢O 3 interfaces

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics offer several benefits compared to their ferromagnetic (FM) counterparts, such as high storage capacity and faster processing speed, however, difficulties in manipulating and detecting the AFM moments impede their implementation. Spin-flop coupling, the interfacial perpendicular coupling between FM and AFM moments, can be utilized to control the orientation of AFM moments with the application of moderate magnetic fields on the scale of tenths of a Tesla. Here, in this work, epitaxial bilayers of AFM La 0.5 Sr 0.5 FeO 3 (LSFO)/FM La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO) with fixed LSMO thickness (~85 u.c.) and LSFO thicknesses varying from 10 to 50 u.c. were investigated to determine the effect of Sr doping and La 1-x Sr x FeO 3 magnetocrystalline anisotropy on the strength of spin-flop coupling. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism demonstrated that the spin-flop coupling strength decreased with increasing LSFO layer thickness, persisting at a thickness of 50 u.c. (~20 nm). Furthermore, photoemission electron microscopy revealed a domain-by-domain correlation between the FM and AFM domains consistent with the perpendicular orientation dictated by spin-flop coupling. These results demonstrate that LSFO/LSMO bilayers have the potential to serve as a model materials system for AFM spin transport measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗