Local electronic states of Fe{sub 4}N films revealed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
- Institute of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan)
- Condensed Matter Science Division, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan)
- The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (ISIR), Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047 (Japan)
- Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526 (Japan)
We performed x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements at Fe L{sub 2,3} and N K-edges for Fe{sub 4}N epitaxial films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. In order to clarify the element specific local electronic structure of Fe{sub 4}N, we compared experimentally obtained XAS and XMCD spectra with those simulated by a combination of a first-principles calculation and Fermi's golden rule. We revealed that the shoulders observed at Fe L{sub 2,3}-edges in the XAS and XMCD spectra were due to the electric dipole transition from the Fe 2p core-level to the hybridization state generated by σ* anti-bonding between the orbitals of N 2p at the body-centered site and Fe 3d on the face-centered (II) sites. Thus, the observed shoulders were attributed to the local electronic structure of Fe atoms at II sites. As to the N K-edge, the line shape of the obtained spectra was explained by the dipole transition from the N 1s core-level to the hybridization state formed by π* and σ* anti-bondings between the Fe 3d and N 2p orbitals. This hybridization plays an important role in featuring the electronic structures and physical properties of Fe{sub 4}N.
- OSTI ID:
- 22410210
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 19; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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