Dresden 2009 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 4: Surface Magnetism I

MA 4.2: Talk

Monday, March 23, 2009, 11:15–11:30, HSZ 403

Right Rotating Néel Type Domain Walls in the Fe Doublelayer on/W(110) — •Stefan Meckler, Anett Pressler, Mike Gyamfi, Oswald Pietzsch, and Roland Wiesendanger — Institute of Applied Physics and Microstructure Research Center, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstr. 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany

The system of 1.5 atomic layers Fe on W(110) has been studied intensively in the field of spin polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM), and its magnetic properties have been investigated in great detail. It was recognized very early that the out-of-plane domains and the walls separating them form spiral-like structures with a unique sense of rotation. However, it could not be shown experimentally if the domain walls are of Bloch or Néel type since there was no complete control of the direction of the magnetization of the SP-STM tips. For the same reason the handedness could not be determined experimentally. Applying SP-STM in the field of a three axes vector magnet enables us for the first time to align the magnetization of our SP-STM tips in any arbitrary spatial direction. Using this technique we show that the walls in the Fe doublelayer on W(110) are right rotating Néel type walls. This observation is in good agreement with recent calculations that ascribe both the observed wall type and the unique right handedness to the important role of the Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya interaction at crystal surfaces.