Thin films of the spin ice compound Ho{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}

Journal Article · Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2014 · APL Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867222· OSTI ID:22269552

Leusink, D. P.; Coneri, F.; Hoek, M.; Turner, S.; Van Tendeloo, G. ^[1]; Idrissi, H. ^[1]

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1. Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), Department of Physics, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium)

The pyrochlore compounds Ho{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} and Dy{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} show an exotic form of magnetism called the spin ice state, resulting from the interplay between geometrical frustration and ferromagnetic coupling. A fascinating feature of this state is the appearance of magnetic monopoles as emergent excitations above the degenerate ground state. Over the past years, strong effort has been devoted to the investigation of these monopoles and other properties of the spin ice state in bulk crystals. Here, we report the fabrication of Ho{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} thin films using pulsed laser deposition on yttria-stabilized ZrO{sub 2} substrates. We investigated the structural properties of these films by X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, and the magnetic properties by vibrating sample magnetometry at 2 K. The films not only show a high crystalline quality, but also exhibit the hallmarks of a spin ice: a pronounced magnetic anisotropy and an intermediate plateau in the magnetization along the [111] crystal direction.

• OSTI ID: 22269552
• Journal Information: APL Materials, Vol. 2, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2014 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2166-532X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
CRYSTALS
DYSPROSIUM COMPOUNDS
ENERGY BEAM DEPOSITION
FABRICATION
GROUND STATES
LASER RADIATION
MAGNETIC MONOPOLES
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
MAGNETIZATION
PULSED IRRADIATION
PYROCHLORE
SPIN
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS
TITANATES
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
YTTRIUM OXIDES
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES