0000000000291495
AUTHOR
Stefan Cramm
Interface magnetization of ultrathin epitaxial Co2FeSi(110)/Al2O3films
Element-specific magnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial Co2FeSi(110) films were measured using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The epitaxial Heusler films were grown by RF magnetron sputtering on substrates. The magnetization of thicker films as determined by XMCD is smaller than expected for a half-metallic material. In addition, the magnetization decreases considerably for films thinner than 10 nm. The thickness dependence of the magnetic moment can be described by introducing a certain number of dead layers representing a deficiency of magnetization at the interfaces. Quantitative evaluation results in a dead layer thickness of 0.8 nm at room temperature, consisting of a te…
Metal valence states inEu0.7NbO3,EuNbO3,andEu2Nb5O9by TB-LMTO-ASA band-structure calculations and resonant photoemission spectroscopy
The electronic structures of ${\mathrm{Eu}}_{2}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{9},$ ${\mathrm{EuNbO}}_{3},$ and ${\mathrm{Eu}}_{0.7}{\mathrm{NbO}}_{3}$ have been investigated by photoemission and total-yield spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation, and in the case of ${\mathrm{Eu}}_{2}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{9}$ by tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital (LMTO) band-structure calculations. A central question for reduced europium niobates is that of the valence of Eu and Nb. Both europium and niobium atoms can appear in different valence states so that various electronic configurations in the title compounds are possible. For this reason, the valence band was studied by the resonant Eu…
Element-specific magnetic moments from core-absorption magnetic circular dichroism of the doped Heusler alloyCo2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al
The magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) of core-level absorption (x-ray absorption spectroscopy, XAS) spectra in the soft x-ray region has been measured for the ferromagnetic Heusler alloy ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cr}}_{0.6}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.4}\mathrm{Al}$ at the Co, Fe, and Cr ${L}_{II,III}$ edges. The comparison of XAS spectra before and after in situ cleaning of polished surfaces revealed a pronounced selective oxidation of Cr in air. For clean surfaces we observed a MCD for all three elements with Fe showing the largest moment per atom. The MCD can be explained by the density of states of the $3d$ unoccupied states, predicted by linear muffin-tin orbital atomic sphere approximation. For …
Investigating spintronics thin film systems with synchrotron radiation
Abstract Spintronics is a research field involving a wide variety of different magnetic materials. Synchrotron radiation in the VUV and soft X-ray regime is ideally suited to investigate the relationships between magnetic properties and electronic structure of spintronics thin film stacks. Complex layered structures and nanomagnets are the main building blocks for current and future spintronics applications. In this contribution we describe the study of spintronics model systems with respect to the static and dynamic behavior with an emphasis on interfaces.
Investigation of a novel material for magnetoelectronics: Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al
Heusler compounds are promising candidates for future spintronics device applications. The electronic and magnetic properties of Co2Cr0.6Fe0.4Al, an electron-doped derivative of Co2CrAl, are investigated using circularly polarized synchrotron radiation and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Element specific imaging reveals needle shaped Cr rich phases in a homogeneous bulk of the Heusler compound. The ferromagnetic domain structure is investigated on an element-resolved basis using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) contrast in PEEM. The structure is characterized by micrometre-size domains with a superimposed fine ripple structure; the lateral resolution in these images is abo…
Fabrication of layered nanostructures by successive electron beam induced deposition with two precursors: protective capping of metallic iron structures
We report on the stepwise generation of layered nanostructures via electron beam induced deposition (EBID) using organometallic precursor molecules in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). In a first step a metallic iron line structure was produced using iron pentacarbonyl; in a second step this nanostructure was then locally capped with a 2-3 nm thin titanium oxide-containing film fabricated from titanium tetraisopropoxide. The chemical composition of the deposited layers was analyzed by spatially resolved Auger electron spectroscopy. With spatially resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Fe L₃ edge, it was demonstrated that the thin capping layer prevents the iron structure from oxidation upon e…