Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 39: Magnetism in Thin Films: Interaction Phenomena and Heterostructures

DS 39.2: Invited Talk

Friday, February 29, 2008, 10:45–11:15, H 2032

Investigating the interaction between single-crystalline antiferromagnetic films and ferromagnets — •Wolfgang Kuch — Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin

The lack of detailed understanding of the coupling between an antiferromagnetic (AF) and a ferromagnetic film (FM) is in part due to the incomplete characterization of the interface in the sputtered polycrystalline samples that are typically used. Investigations of the AF/FM interface coupling at well-characterized single-crystalline interfaces can help to tackle this issue. I will present combined magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and layer-resolved magnetic imaging studies using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and a photoelectron emission microscope (PEEM) for the investigation of single-crystalline systems. I will focus on Fe in contact to the oxidic antiferromagnet CoO, grown epitaxially on Ag(001), and on metallic systems containing FeMn as antiferromagnet, deposited on Cu(001). The pronounced layer-by-layer growth of the latter provides the opportunity to controllably tune the interface roughness on the atomic scale. Interestingly, the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature of the FeMn layer depends strongly on the magnetization direction of the adjacent FM layer, providing clear evidence for a magnetic proximity effect in which the FM layer substantially influences the ordering temperature of the AF layer.

Results were obtained in collaboration with F. Offi, L. I. Chelaru, M. Kotsugi, J. Wang, J. Kirschner, R. M. Abrudan, J. Miguel, K. Lenz, and S. Zander.