RESUMO
We have investigated the low-temperature magnetoresistive properties of a thin epitaxial Pd0.92Fe0.08 film at different directions of the current and the applied magnetic field. The obtained experimental results are well described within an assumption of a single-domain magnetic state of the film. In a wide range of the appled field directions, the magnetization reversal proceeds in two steps via the intermediate easy axis. An epitaxial heterostructure of two magnetically separated ferromagnetic layers, Pd0.92Fe0.08/Ag/Pd0.96Fe0.04, was synthesized and studied with dc magnetometry. Its magnetic configuration diagram has been constructed and the conditions have been determined for a controllable switching between stable parallel, orthogonal, and antiparallel arrangements of magnetic moments of the layers.
RESUMO
The results of experimental and theoretical studies of standing spin waves in a series of epitaxial films of the ferromagnetic Pd1−xFex alloy (0.02 < x < 0.11) with different distributions of the magnetic properties across the thickness are presented. Films with linear and stepwise, as well as more complex Lorentzian, sine and cosine profiles of iron concentration in the alloy, and thicknesses from 20 to 400 nm are considered. A crucial influence of the magnetic properties profile on the spectrum of spin wave resonances is demonstrated. A capability of engineering the standing spin waves in graded ferromagnetic films for applications in magnonics is discussed.
RESUMO
A series of Pd1- x Fe x alloy epitaxial films (x = 0, 0.038, 0.062, and 0.080), a material promising for superconducting spintronics, was prepared and studied with ultrafast optical and magneto-optical laser spectroscopy in a wide temperature range of 4-300 K. It was found that the transition to the ferromagnetic state causes a qualitative change of both the reflectivity and the magneto-optical Kerr effect transients. A nanoscale magnetic inhomogeneity of the ferromagnet/paramagnet type inherent in the palladium-rich Pd1- x Fe x alloys reveals itself through the occurrence of a relatively slow, 10-25 ps, photoinduced demagnetization component following a subpicosecond one; the former vanishes at low temperatures only in the x = 0.080 sample. We argue that the 10 ps timescale demagnetization originates most probably from the diffusive transport of d electrons under the condition of nanoscale magnetic inhomogeneities. The low-temperature fraction of the residual paramagnetic phase can be deduced from the magnitude of the slow reflectivity relaxation component. It is estimated as ≈30% for x = 0.038 and ≈15% for x = 0.062 films. The minimal iron content ensuring the magnetic homogeneity of the ferromagnetic state in the Pd1- x Fe x alloy at low temperatures is about 7-8 atom %.
RESUMO
A thin-film superconductor(S)/ferromagnet(F) F1/S/F2-type Pd0.96Fe0.04(20 nm)/VN(30 nm)/Pd0.92Fe0.08(12 nm) heteroepitaxial structure was synthesized on (001)-oriented single-crystal MgO substrate utilizing a combination of the reactive magnetron sputtering and the molecular-beam epitaxy techniques in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The reference VN film, Pd0.96Fe0.04/VN, and VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 bilayers were grown in one run with the target sample. In-situ low-energy electron diffraction and ex-situ X-ray diffraction investigations approved that all the Pd1-xFex and VN layers in the series grew epitaxial in a cube-on-cube mode. Electric resistance measurements demonstrated sharp transitions to the superconducting state with the critical temperature reducing gradually from 7.7 to 5.4 K in the sequence of the VN film, Pd0.96Fe0.04/VN, VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08, and Pd0.96Fe0.04/VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 heterostructures due to the superconductor/ferromagnet proximity effect. Transition width increased in the same sequence from 21 to 40 mK. Magnetoresistance studies of the trilayer Pd0.96Fe0.04/VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 sample revealed a superconducting spin-valve effect upon switching between the parallel and antiparallel magnetic configurations, and anomalies associated with the magnetic moment reversals of the ferromagnetic Pd0.92Fe0.08 and Pd0.96Fe0.04 alloy layers. The moderate critical temperature suppression and manifestations of superconducting spin-valve properties make this kind of material promising for superconducting spintronics applications.
RESUMO
Single-layer vanadium nitride (VN) and bilayer Pd0.96Fe0.04/VN and VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 thin-film heterostructures for possible spintronics applications were synthesized on (001)-oriented single-crystalline magnesium oxide (MgO) substrates utilizing a four-chamber ultrahigh vacuum deposition and analysis system. The VN layers were reactively magnetron sputtered from a metallic vanadium target in Ar/N2 plasma, while the Pd1- x Fe x layers were deposited by co-evaporation of metallic Pd and Fe pellets from calibrated effusion cells in a molecular beam epitaxy chamber. The VN stoichiometry and Pd1- x Fe x composition were controlled by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In situ low-energy electron diffraction and ex situ X-ray diffraction show that the 30 nm thick single-layer VN as well as the double-layer VN(30 nm)/Pd0.92Fe0.08(12 nm) and Pd0.96Fe0.04(20 nm)/VN(30 nm) structures have grown cube-on-cube epitaxially. Electric resistance measurements demonstrate a metallic-type temperature dependence for the VN film with a small residual resistivity of 9 µΩ·cm at 10 K, indicating high purity and structural quality of the film. The transition to the superconducting state was observed at 7.7 K for the VN film, at 7.2 K for the Pd0.96Fe0.04/VN structure and at 6.1 K for the VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 structure with the critical temperature decreasing due to the proximity effect. Contrary to expectations, all transitions were very sharp with the width ranging from 25 mK for the VN film to 50 mK for the VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 structure. We propose epitaxial single-crystalline thin films of VN and heteroepitaxial Pd1- x Fe x /VN and VN/Pd1- x Fe x (x ≤ 0.08) structures grown on MgO(001) as the materials of a choice for the improvement of superconducting magnetic random access memory characteristics.