Effect of NiO spin orientation on the magnetic anisotropy of the Fe film in epitaxially grown Fe/NiO/Ag(001) and Fe/NiO/MgO(001)

Journal Article · Wed Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.174416· OSTI ID:983287

Kim, W; Jin, E; Wu, J; Park, J; Arenholz, E; Scholl, A; Hwang, C; Qiu, Z

Single crystalline Fe/NiO bilayers were epitaxially grown on Ag(001) and on MgO(001), and investigated by Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect (MOKE), and X-ray Magnetic Linear Dichroism (XMLD). We find that while the Fe film has an in-plane magnetization in both Fe/NiO/Ag(001) and Fe/NiO/MgO(001) systems, the NiO spin orientation changes from in-plane direction in Fe/NiO/Ag(001) to out-of-plane direction in Fe/NiO/MgO(001). These two different NiO spin orientations generate remarkable different effects that the NiO induced magnetic anisotropy in the Fe film is much greater in Fe/NiO/Ag(001) than in Fe/NiO/MgO(001). XMLD measurement shows that the much greater magnetic anisotropy in Fe/NiO/Ag(001) is due to a 90{sup o}-coupling between the in-plane NiO spins and the in-plane Fe spins.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Advanced Light Source Division; Materials Sciences Division
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 983287
• Report Number(s): LBNL-3438E; TRN: US201014%%459
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Vol. 81, Issue 17; ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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ANISOTROPY
DICHROISM
ELECTRON DIFFRACTION
KERR EFFECT
MAGNETIZATION
SPIN ORIENTATION