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Title: Ultrathin interfacial layer with suppressed room temperature magnetization in magnesium aluminum ferrite thin films

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5111326· OSTI ID:1611065

Low-damping magnetic oxide thin films with small thicknesses are essential for efficient insulator spintronic devices, particularly those driven by spin torque effects. Here, we investigate the depth-resolved compositional and magnetic properties of epitaxial spinel MgAl0.5Fe1.5O4 (MAFO), which has recently been reported as a promising low-damping insulator. We find that ≈11nm films exhibit optimal Gilbert damping, with a typical damping parameter of 0.001. While defects due to strain relaxation in the bulk of the film contribute to increased damping for large film thickness, the damping increase in thinner films is attributed to the presence of a chemically disordered magnetic dead layer at the film/substrate interface. This interfacial dead layer arises from an Fe-deficient MAFO layer. Notably, this layer is only about one-sixth the thickness of that found at the interface between yttrium iron garnet films and gadolinium gallium garnet substrates, making MAFO an ideal thin-film insulator for spin-torque applications.

Research Organization:
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); National Science Foundation (NSF); US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0008505; N00014-15-1-0045
OSTI ID:
1611065
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1566175
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 115, Issue 13; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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