Magnetic patterning of Fe/Cr/Fe(001) trilayers by Ga{sup +} ion irradiation
- Fachbereich Physik and Forschungsschwerpunkt Materialien fuer Mikro-und Nanosysteme (MINAS), Erwin-Schroedinger-Strasse 56, Technische Universitaet Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany)
Magnetic patterning of antiferromagnetically coupled epitaxial Fe (10 nm)/Cr (0.7 nm)/Fe (10 nm) (001) trilayers by irradiation with 30 keV Ga{sup +} ions was studied by means of atomic force microscopy, magnetic force microscopy, and Kerr magnetometry. It was found that within a fluence range of (1.25-5)x10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2} a complete transition from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic coupling between the two Fe layers can be achieved. The magnetization reversal processes of the nonirradiated, antiferromagnetically coupled areas situated close to the irradiated areas were studied with lateral resolution. Evidence for a lateral coupling mechanism between the magnetic moments of the irradiated and nonirradiated areas was found. Special attention was paid to preserve the flatness of the irradiated samples. Depending on the fluence, topographic steps ranging from +1.5 to -2 nm between the nonirradiated and irradiated areas were observed. At lower fluences the irradiation causes an increase of the surface height, while for higher fluences the height decreases. It was found that for the particular fluence of 2.7x10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2} no height difference between the irradiated and nonirradiated areas occurs. The results suggest that the irradiation of Fe/Cr/Fe trilayers with midenergy ions is an innovative method for magnetic patterning, preserving the initial smoothness of the sample.
- OSTI ID:
- 20719656
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 98, Issue 9; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2125116; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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