| 1. |
- Conlon, C. S., et al.
(författare)
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Hard x-ray standing-wave photoemission insights into the structure of an epitaxial Fe/MgO multilayer magnetic tunnel junction
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-8979 .- 1089-7550. ; 126:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fe/MgO magnetic tunnel junction is a classic spintronic system, with current importance technologically and interest for future innovation. The key magnetic properties are linked directly to the structure of hard-to-access buried interfaces, and the Fe and MgO components near the surface are unstable when exposed to air, making a deeper probing, nondestructive, in-situ measurement ideal for this system. We have thus applied hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HXPS) and standing-wave (SW) HXPS in the few kilo-electron-volt energy range to probe the structure of an epitaxially grown MgO/Fe superlattice. The superlattice consists of 9 repeats of MgO grown on Fe by magnetron sputtering on an MgO(001) substrate, with a protective Al2O3 capping layer. We determine through SW-HXPS that 8 of the 9 repeats are similar and ordered, with a period of 33 +/- 4 angstrom, with the minor presence of FeO at the interfaces and a significantly distorted top bilayer with ca. 3 times the oxidation of the lower layers at the top MgO/Fe interface. There is evidence of asymmetrical oxidation on the top and bottom of the Fe layers. We find agreement with dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) and x-ray reflectivity measurements. Through the STEM measurements, we confirm an overall epitaxial stack with dislocations and warping at the interfaces of ca. 5 angstrom. We also note a distinct difference in the top bilayer, especially MgO, with possible Fe inclusions. We thus demonstrate that SW-HXPS can be used to probe deep buried interfaces of novel magnetic devices with few-angstrom precision.
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| 2. |
- Magnus, Fridrik, et al.
(författare)
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Giant magnetic domains in amorphous SmCo thin films
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 89:22, s. 224420-1-224420-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The potential for tuning of magnetic properties and the exceptional uniformity are among the features that make amorphous magnetic materials attractive for technology. Here it is shown that the magnetization reversal in amorphous SmCo thin films takes place through the formation of giant magnetic domains, over a centimeter across. The domain structure is found to be dictated by the direction of the imprinted in-plane easy axis and the film boundaries. This is a consequence of the size of the anisotropy and the structural uniformity of the films, which also allows the movement of millimeter-long domain walls over distances of several millimeters. The results demonstrate the possibility of tailoring the magnetic domain structure in amorphous magnets over a wide range of length scales, up to centimeters. Moreover, they highlight an important consequence of the structural perfection of amorphous films.
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| 3. |
- Magnus, Fridrik, et al.
(författare)
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Magnetostrictive properties of amorphous SmCo thin films with imprinted anisotropy
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 89:13, s. 134414-1-134414-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examine the magnetostriction in amorphous SmCo thin films with a composition in the range 4-27 at.% Sm. The magnetostriction increases significantly with increasing Sm content but is small compared to terbium-based ferromagnetic compounds, despite the large imprinted anisotropy. The magnetostriction and anisotropy both increase approximately linearly as the temperature is reduced. The magnetoelastic energy is found to be far smaller than the anisotropy energy so the magnetoelastic atomic displacements during growth cannot be the origin of the imprinted anisotropy. The anisotropy is only slightly altered by the application of large tensile stresses, indicating that the local strain fields involved in magnetostriction are not equivalent to the global strain produced by mechanical bending.
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| 4. |
- Magnus, Fridrik, et al.
(författare)
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Tunable giant magnetic anisotropy in amorphous SmCo thin films
- 2013
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Ingår i: Applied Physics Letters. - : AIP Publishing. - 0003-6951 .- 1077-3118. ; 102:16, s. 162402-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- SmCo thin films have been grown by magnetron sputtering at room temperature with a composition of 2-35 at.% Sm. Films with 5 at.% or higher Sm are amorphous and smooth. A giant tunable uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy is induced in the films which peaks in the composition range 11-22 at.% Sm. This cross-over behavior is not due to changes in the atomic moments but rather the local configuration changes. The excellent layer perfection combined with highly tunable magnetic properties make these films important for spintronics applications.
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| 5. |
- Moubah, Reda, et al.
(författare)
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Anisotropic Magnetostriction and Domain Wall Motion in Sm10Co90 Amorphous Films
- 2013
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Ingår i: APPL PHYS EXPRESS. - 1882-0778. ; 6:5, s. 053004-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We show that Sm10Co90 amorphous films exhibit anisotropic magnetostriction effects when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the imprinted easy axis of magnetization. At low applied fields (0-100 mT), we observe strong anisotropy in the field response. Parallel to the applied field, the strain scales linearly with the applied field while the strain perpendicular to the field direction ( easy axis) is close to the detection limit. This behavior is accompanied by zigzag domain wall motion with the corners pointing along the easy axis. The origin of the anisotropic magnetostriction is discussed.
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| 6. |
- Moubah, Reda, et al.
(författare)
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Antisymmetric magnetoresistance in SmCo5 amorphous films with imprinted in-plane magnetic anisotropy
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-8979 .- 1089-7550. ; 115:5, s. 053911-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on magnetoresistance measurements in SmCo5 amorphous films with a giant imprinted magnetic anisotropy. At low applied field parallel to the easy axis, the magnetoresistance exhibits a hysteretic, square, and antisymmetric shape. The antisymmetry in the magnetoresistance is a result of the non-uniform distribution of the magnetization direction over the sample in conjunction with the extraordinary Hall effect. Moreover, the combination of anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements and magnetic domain imaging demonstrates that the symmetry depends on the magnetization orientation with respect to the applied field.
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| 7. |
- Moubah, Reda, et al.
(författare)
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Discrete Layer-by-Layer Magnetic Switching in Fe/MgO(001) Superlattices
- 2016
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Ingår i: Physical Review Applied. - : American physical society. - 2331-7019. ; 5:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on a discrete layer-by-layer magnetic switching in Fe/MgO superlattices driven by an antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling. The strong interlayer coupling is mediated by tunneling through MgO layers with thicknesses up to at least 1.8 nm, and the coupling strength varies with MgO thickness. Furthermore, the competition between the interlayer coupling and magnetocrystalline anisotropy stabilizes both 90 degrees and 180 degrees periodic alignment of adjacent layers throughout the entire superlattice. The tunable layer-by-layer switching, coupled with the giant tunneling magnetoresistance of Fe/MgO/Fe junctions, is an appealing combination for three-dimensional spintronic memories and logic devices.
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| 8. |
- Moubah, Reda, et al.
(författare)
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Enhanced magnetocaloric properties of FeZr amorphous films by C ion implantation
- 2016
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Ingår i: Materials letters (General ed.). - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-577X .- 1873-4979. ; 175, s. 5-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For a high magnetic refrigeration efficiency, a large change of magnetic entropy (-Delta S-M) associated with a high relative cooling power (RCP) are highly desirable. Here, the ion implantation is used to enhance both parameters in FeZr amorphous films. A considerable enhancement of both (-Delta S-M) and RCP, from 0.66 to 1.01 J/kg K and 84.5 to 155.5 J/kg respectively, for the as-grown sample compared to the C -implanted sample is obtained for a magnetic field change of mu(0)Delta H = 1.5 T. The increase of (-Delta S-M) and RCP values, are attributed to the increase of the magnetization and the chemical inhomogeneity, respectively upon C implantation.
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| 9. |
- Moubah, Reda, et al.
(författare)
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Origin of the anomalous temperature dependence of coercivity in soft ferromagnets
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-8979 .- 1089-7550. ; 116:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the origin of the anomalous temperature dependence of coercivity observed in some soft ferromagnets by studying the magnetic and electronic properties of FeZr films doped using ion implantation by H, He, B, C, and N. The anomalous increase of the coercivity with temperature was observed only in the C- and B-doped samples. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that the anomalous behavior of the coercivity coincides with the occurrence of an electron charge transfer for those implanted samples. The origin of the anomaly is discussed in terms of (i) magnetic softness, (ii) nature of the Fe-C and -B covalent bonds, and (iii) large charge transfer.
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| 10. |
- Moubah, Reda, et al.
(författare)
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Soft Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism of Carbon-Implanted Amorphous Fe93Zr7 Films
- 2013
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Ingår i: APPL PHYS EXPRESS. - : Japan Society of Applied Physics. - 1882-0778. ; 6:5, s. 053001-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the effect of carbon implantation on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Fe93Zr7 (FeZr) amorphous films. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements on (FeZr)(100-x)C-x (x = 0, 5.5, and 11) indicate the incorporation of carbon in the FeZr matrix, with an increase of the Fe-Fe distance by implanting carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reveal the creation of Fe-C bonds after implantation. A significant enhancement of the Curie temperature and decrease of the coercivity are observed in the carbon-implanted films. Moreover, the non collinear ferromagnetism of the as-grown FeZr film diminishes upon carbon implantation.
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