Magnetic Ordering and Exchange Interaction of Laves Compounds Sm0.9Pr0.1（Fe1—xCox）2

Structure,magnetic properties and magnetostriction of Sm0.9Pr0.1(Fe1-xCox)2 compounds have been investi-gated by means of X-ray diffraction,a.c. initial susceptibility, extracting sample magnetometer,Mossbauer spec-troscopy and standard strain gauge techniques.The lattice parameter a of the MgCu2-type Laves compounds Sm0.9Pr0.1(Fe1-xCox)2 decreases nonlinearly with increasing Co concentration,deviating from the Vegardˊs law.Curie temperature Tc increases initially from 668 K for x=0 to 694 K for x=0.2 and then decreases to 200 K for x=1.0.The saturation magnetization Ms at temperatures 1.5K, 77K and 300K have the same variation tendency as the composition dependence of Curie temperature,in consistence with rigid-band model.The easy magnetization direction(EMD) od Sm0.9Pr0.1(Fe1-xCox)2 lies along [111] direction in the range x≤0.6,and changes to [110] for x=0.8 ,while Sm0.9Pr0.1(Fe1-xCox)2 stays in the paramagnetic state at room temperature.The composition dependence of the average hyperfine field,Hhf,demonstrates a similar variation tendency as that of the saturation magnetiza-tion Ms and Curie temperature Tc .The spontaneous magnetostricton λ111 increases with increasing Co content.The saturation magnetostriction λs decreases monotonically with increasing x,which is caused by the increase of magnetostriction constant λ100 with opposite sign to that of λ111.A two-sublattice model has been proposed to understand the intermediate region between the [111]and [110] spin configurations ,which can also be used to explain the temperature dependence of magnetization.     

Coercivity variation in exchange-coupled Fe/FePt bilayer with perpendicular magnetization

The soft/hard Fe/FePt film with perpendicular magnetization has been deposited on a glass substrate. The (001) oriented L1₀ FePt film was obtained when annealed by rapid thermal process at 800 °C and a Fe layer was deposited at room temperature with thicknesses of 2 nm to 20 nm. Controlling the Fe layer thickness allowed modification of the hysteresis loops from out-of-plane rigid magnet to in-plane exchange-spring like magnet due to the nanometer scale interface coupling. When the Fe layer thickness increased to 2 nm, the out-of-plane coercivity is reduced to 5.9 kOe but the remanence ratio (0.98) is still high. The Fe (2 nm)/FePt film shows perpendicular magnetization with linear in-plane hysteresis loop. The remanence ratio is reduced to 0.85 when the Fe layer thickness increased to 5 nm. When the Fe layer thickness was varied up to 10-20 nm, the in-plane hysteresis loop shows exchange-spring like behavior with two-step magnetization reversal processes. The films with perpendicular coercivity were moderated by the thickness of soft magnetic layer.     

Structure and magnetic properties of Fe epitaxial thin films prepared by UHV rf magnetron sputtering on GaAs single-crystal substrates

Fe thin films were prepared on GaAs single-crystal substrates of (100)_B3, (110)_B3, and (111)_B3 orientations by ultra high vacuum rf magnetron sputtering. The effects of substrate orientation and substrate temperature on the film growth, the structure, and the magnetic properties were investigated. On GaAs(100)_B3 substrates, Fe(100)_bcc single-crystal films are obtained at 300 °C, whereas Fe films consisting of bcc(100) and bcc(221) crystals epitaxially grow at room temperature (RT). Fe(110)_bcc and Fe(111)_bcc single-crystal films are respectively obtained on GaAs(110)_B3 and GaAs(111)_B3 substrates at RT-300 °C. The in-plane lattice spacings of these Fe epitaxial films are 0-9% larger than the out-of-plane lattice spacings due to accommodation of lattice mismatch between the films and the substrates. The film strain is decreased by employing an elevated substrate temperature of 300 °C. The in-plane magnetization properties are reflecting the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bulk bcc-Fe crystal.     

The effect of growth temperature on the nanostructure and dielectric response of BaTiO3 ferroelectric films

BaTiO₃ ferroelectric films were grown on Si/SiO₂/Ti/Pt/Au/Pt templates at different temperatures in the range 560-680 °C by pulsed laser deposition. Cross section scanning electron microscopy images and atomic force microscopy surface morphology analysis reveal films with columnar structure and in-plane grain size distribution, in the range 10-60 nm, depending on growth temperature. Low-field dielectric measurements were performed as functions of temperature in the range 40-500 K and external dc field up to 400 kV/cm. The apparent permittivity of ferroelectric films grown at 680 °C shows Curie-Weiss behavior above 400 K with Curie temperature and Curie-Weiss constant 240 K and 1 · 10⁵ K, respectively. The films grown at lower temperatures reveal a decrease of Curie temperature down to − 80 K, reduced values of apparent permittivity and loss tangent, and broadening of maximum of temperature dependence of apparent permittivity. The film grown at 590 °C demonstrates state of the art combination of temperature stability (temperature coefficient of apparent permittivity 300 ppm/K in the range 50-350 K), high tunability of apparent permittivity (up to 60% at room temperature), and relatively low loss tangent (less than 0.05 in the frequency range up to 10 GHz). The change in apparent permittivity and its temperature dependence, with variation of growth temperature are analyzed using two different composite models. The first model assumes the film to be a composite with vertical inclusions of low permittivity dielectric material associated with grain boundaries. This model may explain the observed decrease of permittivity with decreasing growth temperature, but not the shift of Curie temperature. The second model assumes a layered type of composite with low permittivity material associated with the film/electrode interfaces, and allows explanation of the Curie temperature shift.     

Temperature dependence of the magnetization of nanostructured Ni films

Ni films were prepared on SiO₂/Si(100) substrates at 300 K by DC magnetron sputter-deposition. The films consist of thin columnar grains grown perpendicularly to the substrate surface. A magnetization dependence on temperature was investigated in the range from 300 to 673 K with the use of a vibrating sample magnetometer. The saturation magnetization of the Ni films decreases markedly with increasing the temperature up to 520 K. However, as the temperature exceeds 520 K, the magnetization begins to increase forming the magnetization minimum at 520 K and then finally falls to zero at 590 K. It is confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction that such recovery of the magnetization at the temperature over 520 K is attributed to an improvement of the crystallinity in the film due to the migration and annihilation of vacancies during the magnetization measurement at the higher temperature. In conclusion, the Curie temperature of the Ni films with the thin columnar grains can be determined to be about 520 K appreciably lower than that of the Ni bulk crystal.     

Study of Magnetic Easy Axis 3-D Arrangement in L1$_{0}$ CoPt(111)/Pt(111)/MgO(100) Tilted System for Perpendicular Recording

We report a study of angular magnetic properties of high-anisotropy L1₀ CoPt (111) films having a tilted magnetic easy axis configuration without an oblique-grain microstructure. In particular, we investigated the field dependence of remanent magnetization while rotating the magnetic field inside three intersecting planes. The out-of-plane tilting of the L1₀ c-axis (the easy axis of the tetragonal cell) was induced by using a Pt (111) underlayer deposited onto a single-crystal MgO substrate in a conventional frontal pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The observed behavior is consistent with the presence of four easy axes with mutually orthogonal in-plane projections, symmetrically tilted at 36deg with respect to the film plane. Such a system can be used, like a common single-axis tilted medium, to record information in perpendicular mode, lowering the writing field to approximately 75% of the value along the easy direction, while still maintaining the high thermal stability typical of the L1₀ alloy. Moreover, the in-plane charge compensation arising from this easy axis arrangement when a perpendicular writing field is applied may favor a media noise reduction and better performance with respect to a single-axis tilted system.     

Magnetic properties of planar nanowire arrays of Co fabricated on oxidized step-bunched silicon templates

Planar nanowire (NW) arrays of Co grown on oxidized step-bunched Si(111) templates exhibit room temperature ferromagnetic behaviour for wire widths down to 25?nm. Temperature and thickness dependent magnetization studies on these polycrystalline NW arrays show that the magnetic anisotropy of the NW array is dominated by shape anisotropy, which keeps the magnetization in-plane with easy axis parallel to the wires. This shape related uniaxial anisotropy is preserved even at low temperatures (10?K). Thickness dependent studies reveal that the magnetization reversal is governed by the curling mode reversal for thick wires whereas thinner wires exhibit a more complex behaviour which is related to thermal effects and size distribution of the crystal grains that constitute the NWs.     

Effects of annealing time on the structural and magnetic properties of L10 FePt thin films

Thermal annealing of [Fe 1.65 nm/Pt 1.84 nm]₅₀ multilayers at 673 K for various annealing times between 60 and 12000 s leads to the direct formation of the fully ordered L1₀ FePt phase with (111) texture. The average grain sizes, determined from X-ray diffraction size-strain analysis, are smaller than the critical size for multi-domain FePt particles, suggesting the presence of single-domain (SD) grains. The coercivity increases with annealing time and increasing grain size and reaches values of about 955 kA/m. The remanence values are typical for randomly oriented weakly-interacting particles. A decrease of the remanence with annealing time suggests a decrease of the intergrain exchange interactions with annealing time. Analysis of minor loops and the initial magnetization curves shows the presence of a broad distribution of critical fields, which the individual SD particles have to overcome for the magnetization reversal.     

Thermal evolution of the morphology of Ni/Ag/Si(111)-√3 × √3 surface

The temperature-driven changes in morphology of the interface formed by room temperature (RT) deposition of Ni atoms onto an Ag/Si(111)-√3 × √3 surface were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. Roughly 70% of Ni deposition diffused into bulk substrate within the temperature range between RT and 573 K. The images as obtained after annealing up to 670 K correspond to the formation of nano-sized islands of nickel silicides. Two types of islands, large triangular islands typical of the whole range of applied coverage, and smaller islands of different shapes, coexist at Ni coverage higher than 1 monolayer. Annealing above 870 K led to the formation of a 7 × 7 phase in coexistence with small 5 × 5 domains at the expense of a complete disappearance of the √3 × √3 phase. Also, formation of Ni,Si alloy was observed at the temperature, along with segregation of bulk-dissolved Ni species onto the surface.     

Characterization of bimetallic Au-Pt(111) surfaces

Structural and electronic properties of ultrathin Au films deposited on Pt(111) and annealed at different temperatures have been studied by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), photoemission of adsorbed xenon (PAX) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). The LEED measurements indicate an initial pseudomorphic growth of the Au films. The UPS and PAX experiments show a strong temperature dependence of the surface morphology. The surface covered with Au at 150 K is quite rough but smoothens significantly above room temperature. At a temperature of 750 K intermixing and the formation of an Au-Pt surface alloy start at the interface. The electronic properties of this surface alloy seem to be nearly independent from the originally deposited Au amount in the investigated range of 1-10 monolayers. The removal of Au from the surface regions has also been verified by scanning tunneling microscopy. Adsorption experiments with CO as a titration agent show a significantly lower affinity of the Au-Pt surface alloy in comparison with the clean Pt surface.     

Soft magnetic property and magnetization reversal mechanism of Sm doped FeCo thin film for high-frequency application

A series of (Fe_0.67Co_0.33)_1 − xSm_x (0 ≤ x < 0.25) thin films with thickness around 110 nm have been fabricated on silicon(111) substrates by magnetron co-sputtering at ambient condition with a 2.4 kA/m magnetic field applied in the film plane during deposition. With the Sm concentration increasing, FeCo grain size gradually decreases and FeCoSm film eventually becomes amorphous, while the isotropic magnetic property changes to in-plane uniaxial anisotropy as long as Sm is doped. The investigation of the angular dependence of coercivity and switching field indicates that the magnetization reversal mechanism of FeCoSm film is domain-wall depinning and coherent rotation when the applied field is close to the easy axis and hard axis, respectively. The anisotropy field and the resonance frequency of FeCoSm films can be tuned in the range of 15.0-109.5 kA/m and 5.2-11.8 GHz, respectively, by controlling the content of Sm, indicating that FeCoSm films have much potential in high-frequency applications.     

Crystal orientation changes of Ag thin films on the Si(111) substrate due to tribo-assisted recrystallization

Crystal orientation changes of Ag thin films due to the tribo-assisted recrystallization have been studied using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation. After preparation of an Si(111) √3 × √3-Ag surface, a 5-nm-thick Ag film was deposited on the surface at the substrate temperature of 303 K in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The friction experiments were carried out using a diamond pin-on-plate type tribometer just after the Ag deposition in the same UHV chamber. We found that the coefficient of friction of the Ag films on the Si(111) √3 × √3-Ag surface decreases from 0.07 to 0.03, with increasing reciprocal sliding cycles. In synchronization with the coefficient change, Ag{100} grains are gradually disappearing. As a result, the Ag{111} grains cover the entire surface after 50 sliding cycles. Moreover, we found that the domain size of the Ag{111} grains increases with increasing reciprocal sliding cycles by measuring the rocking curve width. These results directly show that the Ag(111) plane is the sliding plane of friction and the coefficient of friction of Ag films is determined by the fraction of the Ag(111) grains in the Ag films. Moreover, to clarify the reaction between the Ag film and the Si substrate due to the tribo-assisted recrystallization, the substrate strain has been studied by an extremely asymmetric X-ray diffraction technique using synchrotron radiation.     

Biaxially textured Ag films by grazing ion beam assisted deposition

The effect of grazing incidence 4 keV Ar⁺ ion irradiation on the early stage of Ag thin film growth on amorphous Si was investigated. The double effect of axial and surface channeling resulted in grains oriented along the 〈110〉 axis in-plane, while the (111) out-of-plane texture was maintained. A slight average tilt of the (111) out-of-plane texture axis towards the ion beam direction is proposed to result from the difference between terrace and step edge sputtering yield. The observed tilt is consistent with a minimum erosion orientation of the surface profile.     

New pathway to prepare surface-enhanced Raman scattering-active silver nanoparticles based on electrochemical methods

In this work, we report a new strategy to prepare silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) from bulk Ag substrates. First, positively charged Ag ions were prepared by electrochemical methods in 0.1 N HNO₃ aqueous solutions. Then the solutions were heated from room temperature to 100 °C at a heating rate of 6 °C/min to prepare Ag nanoparticles. The average particle size of the prepared Ag NPs with predominant (111) face is ca. 10 nm. Experimental results indicate that the prepared Ag (111) nanoparticles in solutions are surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active, which are examined by probe molecules of Rhodamine 6G.     

Magnetic properties and microstructures of single-layered Fe100 − xPtx films deposited onto heated substrates

The single-layered Fe_100 − xPt_x films of 30 nm thick with Pt contents (x) of 35-57 at.% are deposited on heated Si (100) substrate at a temperature (Ts) of 620 °C by magnetron co-sputtering. When the Pt content in the Fe-Pt alloy film is 35 at.%, the value of in-plane coercivity (Hc_//) is close to perpendicular coercivity (Hc_⊥) and both values are about 800 kA/m. The FePt films exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy when the Pt content increases to the values of between 45 and 51 at.%. The perpendicular coercivity, saturation magnetization (Ms) and perpendicular squareness (S_⊥) for Fe₅₄Pt₄₆ film are as high as 1113 kA/m, 0.594 Wb/m² and 0.96, respectively. These magnetic properties reveal its significant potential as perpendicular magnetic recording media. Upon further increasing the Pt content to 57 at.%, the coercivity of the Fe-Pt film decreases drastically to below 230 kA/m and tends to be closer to in-plane magnetic anisotropy.     

Effect of deposition temperature on morphology and magnetic properties of Co50Fe50 thin films produced by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition

Deposition temperature effect on morphological, topological and magnetic characteristics of nanoparticle-assembled Co₅₀Fe₅₀ films produced by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (fs-PLD) on Kapton substrate was investigated. For substrate temperature T_s ≥ 550 K, a decrement of the nanoparticle's aggregates and an increment of the nanoparticle's density were observed with respect to room temperature deposition; this in association with a strong increase of the magnetoelastic anisotropy energy lead to a reduction of the remanence ratio, a significant rise of the saturation and coercive fields and an enhancement of the saturation magnetization. The results are discussed focusing on: i) the correlation between films structure and their magnetic behavior; ii) the role of the different anisotropy energies in determining the harder in-plane magnetic behavior for T_s ≥ 550 K. The thermal strain of Kapton substrate holds an important role in generating morphological and topological characteristics of the fs-PLD films and corresponding magnetic properties.     

Room temperature ferromagnetism in Fe-doped CeO2 thin films grown on LaAlO3 (001)

Ce_1 − xFe_xO_2 − δ/LaAlO₃(001) thin films (x = 0.01 and 0.03) have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition method and thoroughly characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), dc magnetization, near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). XRD data reveal a single-phase cubic structure with a strong crystallographic orientation along the (200) plane. Room temperature ferromagnetism is confirmed through isothermal hysteresis as well as temperature dependent magnetization measurements, which clearly show the ferromagnetic Curie temperature occurring at least above 350 K. The Fe L_3,2 edge NEXAFS spectra for both Fe-doped thin films exhibit mixed valent Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ states, whereas Ce M_5,4 edge shows the 4+ state of Ce, throughout the doping. With the increase in Fe doping, Fe²⁺ state increases and a simultaneous decrease in magnetization value is also observed. The XMCD signal of both samples reveals the ferromagnetic ordering of substituted Fe ions in the ceria matrix. Our results indicate that ferromagnetism is intrinsic to the ceria system and is not due to any secondary magnetic impurity.     

Very-low-temperature static magnetic properties of certain metals possibly useful as magnetic thermometers

The static magnetization of pure Al and Tl, and of Pt containing 70 ppm Fe, has been measured over the temperature range 10–400 mK. It is shown that the temperature-dependent magnetism of pure Al and Tl can be attributed to nuclear magnetism only, with calculated Curie constants 6.9×10^–8 and 1.7×10^–8 K, respectively. The magnetization of Pt containing 70 ppm Fe in a magnetic field of 10 Oe was found to obey a Curie-Weiss law over the entire temperature range studied. The adequacy of Cu, Al, Tl, and Pt as magnetic thermometers in the millidegree temperature region is discussed.This research was supported in part by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under Contract No. AT(04-3)-34, P.A. 143.     

Syntheses, Crystallographic and Magnetic Propertiesof Nd3Fe29-xCrx and Other Associated Compounds

1. IlltroductionRecentlyt a new class of rare earth-iron(R-Fe)compounds R3(Fe,T)29 stabilized by a third element (T~transition metal), located at the Ferich corner in the R-Fe-T phase diagrams, hasbeen attracted special attention because of theirnovel crystal structured~sl and attractive magneticproperties[6]. Among them, the nitrides and carbidesof Sin3(Fe,T)29 (T=Ti[7-9] t Vllo~12] t Crllo,13-16] 1 andMollv] ) compounds, with a strong uniaxial anisotropy,high magnetic ordering tempera…