Structural and magnetic properties of Er thin films and Er/Y superlattices: Magnetoelastic effects

Journal Article · Thu Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1991 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.43.3123· OSTI ID:5845857

Borchers, J A; Salamon, M B ^[1]; Erwin, R W; Rhyne, J J ^[2]; Du, R R; Flynn, C P ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics and Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (USA)
2. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (USA)

Crystalline erbium thin films and Er/Y superlattices with varying Er-layer thicknesses have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The magnetic and structural properties of these samples have been analyzed by x-ray-scattering, bulk-magnetization, and neutron-diffraction techniques. From a comparison of the data for the two systems, the importance of interfacial strain relative to artificial modulation in shaping the magnetic behavior has been determined. Though the basic nature of the erbium magnetic order is not qualitatively altered in either the thin films or superlattices, the conical ferromagnetic phase is suppressed in all of the samples considered. The enhanced critical fields exhibit a systematic dependence on Er-layer thickness. These effects appear to follow directly from the epitaxial basal-plane strain which is measurable in films over 14 000 A thick. This strain, along with a clamping'' of the Er thermal expansion to the Y lattice, leads to a reduction of the magnitude of the magnetoelastic energy that drives the ferromagnetic transition. The dependence of the magnetoelastic energy on the epitaxial strain is described by a model which accounts for the elastic coupling of the erbium lattice to the yttrium.

• OSTI ID: 5845857
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (USA), Journal Name: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (USA) Vol. 43:4; ISSN 0163-1829; ISSN PRBMD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360104* -- Metals & Alloys-- Physical Properties
COHERENT SCATTERING
DIFFRACTION
ELEMENTS
EPITAXY
ERBIUM
FILMS
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
METALS
MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY
NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RARE EARTHS
SCATTERING
STRAINS
SUPERLATTICES
THIN FILMS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
YTTRIUM