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At least 1,135 records · Page 63

Resonant spin and valley polarization in ferromagnetic silicene quantum well

We propose a silicene-based lateral resonant tunneling device by placing silicene under the modulation of top nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic sandwich nanogates. Following the electric-tunable bandgap of silicene, lateral double-barrier structure is formed by imposing the flexible electrostatic modulation on top gates. By aligning the spin and valley-resolved confined states in magnetic well, remarkable spin/valley polarization can be accessed through spinor-relying resonant tunneling mechanism. Under the electrostatic, magnetic, and size manipulation, the confined well state can be efficiently engineered, and the observed spin and valley polarization can be further flexibly tuned, offering some helpful strategies to construct spinor-electronic logic atomically.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Micromagnetic simulations of spin-wave normal modes and the spin-transfer-torque driven magnetization dynamics of a ferromagnetic cross

We studied spin-transfer-torque (STT) switching of a cross-shaped magnetic tunnel junction in a recent report [Roy et al., J. Appl. Phys. 113, 223904 (2013)]. In that structure, the free layer is designed to have four stable energy states using the shape anisotropy of a cross. STT switching showed different regions with increasing current density. Here, we employ the micromagnetic spectral mapping technique in an attempt to understand how the asymmetry of cross dimensions and spin polarization direction of the injected current affect the magnetization dynamics. We compute spatially averaged frequency-domain spectrum of the time-domain magnetization dynamics in the presence of the current-induced STT term. At low currents, the asymmetry of polarization direction and that of the arms are observed to cause a splitting of the excited frequency modes. Higher harmonics are also observed, presumably due to spin-wave wells caused by the regions of spatially non-uniform effective magnetic field. The results could be used towards designing a multi-bit-per-cell STT-based random access memory with an improved storage density.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Optical demagnetization in defect-mediated ferromagnetic ZnO:Cu films

Optical demagnetization effect has been observed in a defect-rich ZnO:Cu film. Phenomenally, UV illumination can effectively quench dual-donor oxygen vacancy (V{sub O}) and interstitial zinc (Zn{sub i}) mediated magnetic ordering (90% loss) with carrier recapture in ionized Zn{sub i} (Zn{sub i}{sup 2+} rather than Zn{sub i}{sup +}) traps. The involvement of carriers by means of metal Zn vapor annealing provides a bound carrier related magnetic scenario, stressing a more significant place of bound carrier rather than free carrier. Using light correlated electron spin resonance and magnetic measurements, the magnetic “on” and “off” state can be continuously manipulated via UV light, which is explained by the reversible process of [Cu{sub s}{sup +}/Cu{sub s}{sup 2+}] + Zn{sub i}{sup 2+} ↔ [Cu{sub s}{sup +}, h] + Zn{sub i}{sup +} (s and h denote the substitutional Cu ions on Zn sites in ZnO lattice and hole carrier, respectively). A slow charge-transfer process (∼15 μs) from Zn{sub i}{sup +} bound carriers to [Cu{sub s}{sup +}, h] states determines the unexpected optical demagnetization, well corresponding to control experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tuning the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic interfaces of granular Co-CoO exchange bias systems by annealing

The low-temperature magnetic behavior of granular Co-CoO exchange bias systems, prepared by oxygen ion implantation in Co thin films and subsequent annealing, is addressed. The thermal activation effects lead to an O migration which results in virtually pure Co areas embedded in a structurally relaxed and nearly stoichiometric CoO phase. This yields decreased training and exchange bias shifts, while the blocking temperature significantly increases, coming close to the Néel temperature of bulk CoO for samples implanted to a fluence above 1 × 10{sup 17} ions/cm{sup 2} (15% O). The dependence of the exchange bias shift on the pristine O-implanted content is analogous to that of the antiferromagnetic thickness in most ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic systems (i.e., an increase in the exchange bias shift up to a maximum followed by a decrease until a steady state is reached), suggesting that, after annealing, the enriched Co areas might be rather similar in size for samples implanted above 1 × 10{sup 17} ions/cm{sup 2}, whereas the corresponding CoO counterparts become enlarged with pristine O content (i.e., effect of the antiferromagnet size). This study demonstrates that the magnetic properties of granular Co-CoO systems can be tailored by controllably modifying the local microstructure through annealing treatments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Polarized spin and valley transport across ferromagnetic silicene junctions

We study ballistic transport of Dirac fermions through silicene barriers, of width d, with an exchange field M and metallic gates above them that provide tunable potentials of height U. Away from the Dirac point (DP), the spin- and valley-resolved conductances, as functions of U, exhibit resonances and close to it a pronounced dip that becomes a transport gap when an appropriate electric field E{sub z} is applied. The charge conductance g{sub c} of such a junction changes from oscillatory to a monotonically decreasing function of d beyond a critical E{sub z}. This change of g{sub c} can be used to realize electric-field-controlled switching. The field M splits each resonance of g{sub c} in two spin-resolved peaks. The spin p{sub s} and valley p{sub v} polarizations of the current near the DP increase with E{sub z} or M and become nearly perfect above certain of their values. We also show that p{sub s} and p{sub v} can be inverted either by reversing the polarity of U or the direction of M. For two barriers, there is no splitting in g{sub c} when the fields M are in opposite directions. Most of these phenomena have no analogs in graphene.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effect of magnetic field enhancement of the photocurrent in ferromagnetic metal-dielectric heterostructures SiO{sub 2}(Co)/GaAs

Heterostructures of silicon dioxide films containing cobalt nanoparticles SiO{sub 2}(Co) grown on GaAs substrate exhibit at room temperature high values of magnetic field enhancement of photocurrent in the vicinity and above the GaAs bandgap of ∼1.4 eV. For photon energies E above the GaAs bandgap, the photocurrent significantly increases, while the avalanche process is suppressed by the magnetic field, and the current flowing through the heterostructure decreases. The photocurrent is enhanced in the SiO{sub 2}(Co 60 at. %)/GaAs heterostructure at the magnetic field H = 1.65 kOe by a factor of about ten for the photon energy E = 1.5 eV. This phenomenon is explained by a model describing electronic transitions in magnetic fields with the spin-dependent recombination process at deep impurity centers in the GaAs interface region.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetotransport properties of a few-layer graphene-ferromagnetic metal junctions in vertical spin valve devices

Magnetotransport properties were studied for the vertical spin valve devices with two junctions of permalloy electrodes and a few-layer graphene interlayer. The graphene layer was directly grown on the bottom electrode by chemical vapor deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the permalloy surface fully covered with a few-layer graphene is kept free from oxidation and contamination even after dispensing and removing photoresist. This enabled fabrication of the current perpendicular to plane spin valve devices with a well-defined interface between graphene and permalloy. Spin-dependent electron transport measurements revealed a distinct spin valve effect in the devices. The magnetotransport ratio was 0.8% at room temperature and increased to 1.75% at 50 K. Linear current-voltage characteristics and resistance increase with temperature indicated that ohmic contacts are realized at the relevant interfaces.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Interfacial Exchange Phenomena Driven by Ferromagnetic Domains

Abstract Interfacial proximity effects in antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic (AFM/FM) bilayers control the exchange‐bias (EB) phenomena exploited in most spintronic devices, although still is lack of full understanding. Discordant results, including different exchange‐bias field ( H E ), coercivity ( H C ), or blocking temperature ( T B ) found even in similar systems, are usually ascribed to uncontrolled parameters, namely dissimilar interfacial defects, structure, and thicknesses. Here, it is shown in the very same sample that the magnetic domain structure during the magnetization reversal of the FM layer controls those mentioned effects. Simultaneous transport and vectorial‐resolved magnetic measurements performed in a V 2 O 3 /Co system during warming after different field cooling (FC) procedures exhibit a strong dependence on the FC angle and the domain structure of the FM layer. Remarkably, magnetization reversal analysis reveals 35 K of variation in T B and up to a factor of two in H E . These observations can be explained within the random‐field model for the interfacial exchange coupling with a fixed AFM domain structure in contact with a variable (angle‐dependent) FM domain structure. The results highlight the importance of the domain structure and magnetization reversal of the FM layer (not previously considered) in the EB phenomena, with potential to tailor interfacial effects in future spintronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Density Functional Study of Half-Metallic Ferromagnetism in the New Heusler Compounds CaYO{sub 2} (Y = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn)

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of full-Heusler alloys CaYO{sub 2} (Y = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) were investigated using full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method based on density functional theory. It was confirmed that these compounds can be synthesized experimentally due to their negative formation energies. The results predicted that all compounds in AlCu{sub 2}Mn-type structure were more stable than CuHg{sub 2}Ti-type structure. The band structure calculations showed that alloys CaYO{sub 2} (Y = Cr, Fe, Ni, and Cu) in AlCu{sub 2}Mn-type structure and CaYO{sub 2} (Y = Ti, V, Cr, Co, and Ni) in CuHg{sub 2}Ti-type structure have half metallic behavior. The origin of half-metallic characteristic was investigated using electronic density of states for CaFeO{sub 2}. Among these alloys, CaCrO{sub 2} was half-metal in a wide range of lattice constants indicating its resistance against destructive factors of half-metallicity such as temperature and pressure. The total magnetic moments for half-metallic alloys were integer values and obeyed the Slater-Pauling rules. The CaYO{sub 2} alloys with half-metallic character may be good candidates for practical applications in spintronics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tight-Binding Theoretical Study of the Tunneling Conductance in Ferromagnetically Ordered Graphene-on-Substrate

We report here a tight-binding theoretical study of the tunneling conductance and temperature dependent specific heat of graphene-on-substrate. The Hamiltonian consists of the electron hoppings up to third nearest neighbors in the presence of doping and on-site Coulomb interactions at two sub-lattices of honey-comb lattice. The total Hamiltonian is solved by Zubarev Green’s functions technique. Then, the sub-lattice magnetizations, tunneling conductance, and specific heat are calculated from the Green’s functions and are computed numerically. The effect of impurity, substrate induced gap, and repulsive Coulomb potential on tunneling conductance is discussed. The anomaly in specific heat at low temperatures is described.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

No Signature of Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Fe-Doped ITO Thin Films

Iron (Fe)-doped indium tin oxide thin films (In{sub 0.95 − x}Fe{sub x}Sn{sub 0.05}){sub 2}O{sub 3} at x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 were deposited onto glass substrates using an electron beam evaporation technique. The coated thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer, photoluminescence spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope, and vibrating sample magnetometer to study their structural, optical, morphological, and magnetic properties, respectively. The crystallite size of the films increased from 18 to 30 nm with Fe concentration (x). The morphology showed the formation of nanorods. The bandgap of the films decreased from 3.94 to 3.81 eV. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies confirm the presence of Fe ions in two different oxidation states (Fe{sup 2+}, Fe{sup 3+}). The magnetic studies revealed the paramagnetic behavior of the films at room temperature and at low temperature (5 K). The effective magnetic moment (μ{sub eff}) of Fe-doped indium tin oxide thin films was calculated using Langevin theory of paramagnetism extending to Curie’s law. The effective magnetic moment (μ{sub eff}) was increased on increasing the dopant concentration.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Modeling of the Spin Currents in Resonant Tunneling Diodes Based on Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Spacers

In this paper, we theoretically study the effects of the widths of the central quantum well GaN and the right barrier AlGaN on the spin-polarized currents in resonant tunneling diode based on GaMnN contacts and AlGaN/GaN two barriers. We found that the two spin currents (up and down) can be modulated at low temperature by varying the quantum sizes. Our findings show marked dependence of the spin-current maxima on the quantum well (L{sub w}) width. We report an optimum value of L{sub w} for which the spin-up current reaches its maximum before the spin-down current. Also, we have studied the effect of the right barrier width (L{sub b2}) on the spin currents. We have found that the obtained currents are dramatically reduced by increasing the width of the right barrier at some L{sub b2} widths (L{sub b2} =), so that the two spin currents disappear completely. The obtained results can be useful for the experimenters to create efficient spin filters to sustain and modulate the output spin currents.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Coherent helicity-dependent spin-phonon oscillations in the ferromagnetic van der Waals crystal CrI3

Abstract The discovery of two-dimensional systems hosting intrinsic magnetic order represents a seminal addition to the rich landscape of van der Waals materials. CrI 3 is an archetypal example, where the interdependence of structure and magnetism, along with strong light-matter interactions, provides a new platform to explore the optical control of magnetic and vibrational degrees of freedom at the nanoscale. However, the nature of magneto-structural coupling on its intrinsic ultrafast timescale remains a crucial open question. Here, we probe magnetic and vibrational dynamics in bulk CrI 3 using ultrafast optical spectroscopy, revealing spin-flip scattering-driven demagnetization and strong transient exchange-mediated interactions between lattice vibrations and spin oscillations. The latter yields a coherent spin-coupled phonon mode that is highly sensitive to the driving pulse’s helicity in the magnetically ordered phase. Our results elucidate the nature of ultrafast spin-lattice coupling in CrI 3 and highlight its potential for applications requiring high-speed control of magnetism at the nanoscale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗