Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 26: Magnetic Thin Films I of 2

MA 26.10: Talk

Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 12:00–12:15, H3

Epitaxial DyCo₅ thin films with magnetic compensation — •Benjamin Schleicher, Marietta Seifert, Ludwig Schultz, and Volker Neu — IFW Dresden, Institute for Metallic Materials, Dpt. Magnetic Microstructures, Helmholtzstr. 20, D-01069 Dresden

Epitaxial DyCo₅ thin films with a thickness of 50 nm were prepared by pulsed laser deposition from elementary targets in an UHV environment. The use of Cr-buffered MgO (110) and Ru-buffered Al₂O₃ (0001) substrates results in an in-plane and out-of-plane growth of the unit cells’ crystallographic c-axis, respectively. The structural properties were investigated with XRD and texture measurements and the (1:5)-phase was confirmed through the successful verification of the appropriate XRD-peaks and pole figures. Subsequently, magnetization has been measured as a function of temperature with a 9 T vibrating sample magnetometer in a temperature range from 20 K to 400 K. Additionally, hysteresis loops were measured at discrete temperatures and different field angles with respect to the crystals c-axis to probe the anisotropic behavior of the samples.

The ferrimagnetic coupling between the heavy rare earth Dy and the transition metal Co was confirmed by identifying a minimum of the magnetization (and thereby of the magnetic moment) of the sample at a certain temperature (compensation point), and the value of roughly 110 K is in qualitative agreement with literature data of single crystals. In addition to that, a spin reorientation transition from easy axis via easy cone to easy plane was observed in a temperature range of 250 - 400 K.