Ag/Fe/Ag and Cr/Fe/Cr trilayers with a single $25 nm$ thick ferromagnetic layer exhibit giant magnetoresistance (GMR) type behavior. The resistance decreases for parallel and transversal magnetic field alignements with a Langevin-type magnetic field dependence up to B=12 T. The phenomenon is explained by a granular interface structure. Results on Fe/Ag multilayers are also interpreted in terms of a granular interface magnetoresistance.
We report on giant positive magnetoresistance effect observed in VOx thin films, epitaxially grown on SrTiO3 substrate. The MR effect depends strongly on temperature and oxygen content and is anisotropic. At low temperatures its magnitude reaches 70%
in a magnetic field of 5 T. Strong electron-electron interactions in the presence of strong disorder may qualitatively explain the results. An alternative explanation, related to a possible magnetic instability, is also discussed.
We have studied the origin of a counter intuitive diffusion behavior of Fe and N atoms in a iron mononitride (FeN) thin film. It was observed that in-spite of a larger atomic size, Fe tend to diffuse more rapidly than smaller N atoms. This only happe
ns in the N-rich region of Fe-N phase diagram, in the N-poor regions, N diffusion coefficient is orders of magnitude larger than Fe. Detailed self-diffusion measurements performed in FeN thin films reveal that the diffusion mechanism of Fe and N is different - Fe atoms diffuse through a complex process, which in addition to a volume diffusion, pre-dominantly controlled by a fast grain boundary diffusion. On the other hand N atoms diffuse through a classical volume-type diffusion process. Observed results have been explained in terms of stronger Fe-N (than Fe-Fe) bonds generally predicted theoretically for mononitride compositions of transition metals.
Layered iridates have been the subject of intense scrutiny on account of their unusually strong spin-orbit coupling, which opens up a narrow gap in a material that would otherwise be a metal. This insulating state is very sensitive to external pertur
bations. Here, we show that vertical compression at the nanoscale, delivered using the tip of a standard scanning probe microscope, is capable of inducing a five orders of magnitude change in the room temperature resistivity of Sr2IrO4. The extreme sensitivity of the electronic structure to anisotropic deformations opens up a new angle of interest on this material, and the giant and fully reversible perpendicular piezoresistance makes iridates a promising material for room temperature piezotronic devices.
Reading the magnetic state of antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin films is key for AFM spintronic devices. We investigate the underlying physics behind the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) of bilayers of platinum and insulating AFM hematite ({alpha}-Fe2O3)
and find an SMR efficiency of up to 0.1%, comparable to ferromagnetic based structures. To understand the observed complex SMR field dependence, we analyse the effect of misalignments of the magnetic axis that arise during growth of thin films, by electrical measurements and direct magnetic imaging, and find that a small deviation can result in significant signatures in the SMR response. This highlights the care that must be taken when interpreting SMR measurements on AFM spin textures.
The interface and electronic structure of thin (~20-74 nm) Co3O4(110) epitaxial films grown by oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on MgAl2O4(110) single crystal substrates have been investigated by means of real and reciprocal space techniques. A
s-grown film surfaces are found to be relatively disordered and exhibit an oblique low energy electron diffraction (LEED) pattern associated with the O-rich CoO2 bulk termination of the (110) surface. Interface and bulk film structure are found to improve significantly with post-growth annealing at 820 K in air and display sharp rectangular LEED patterns, suggesting a surface stoichiometry of the alternative Co2O2 bulk termination of the (110) surface. Non-contact atomic force microscopy demonstrates the presence of wide terraces separated by atomic steps in the annealed films that are not present in the as-grown structures; the step height of ~ 2.7 A corresponds to two atomic layers and confirms a single termination for the annealed films, consistent with the LEED results. A model of the (1 * 1) surfaces that allows for compensation of the polar surfaces is presented.