Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 46: Surface Magnetism
MA 46.2: Talk
Friday, March 21, 2025, 09:45–10:00, H19
The magnetic domain structure of Ho(0001)/W(110) — •Vijayalaxmi Sankeshwar1,2, Patrick Haertl2, and Matthias Bode2 — 1Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India — 2Experimentelle Physik II, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
Rare-earth metal (REM) films exhibit diverse magnetic phenomena
driven by the indirect RKKY coupling of localized 4f orbital moments,
which promotes the formation of helical spin structures.
Holmium (Ho), notable for its exceptionally high magnetic moment (≈10 µB),
develops stable helical configurations across a wide temperature range [1].
In its bulk form, Ho crystallizes in a hexagonal close-packed structure,
transitioning from a helical spin spiral state below TN = 131 K
to a conical magnetic state below TC = 20 K.
At reduced thicknesses, theoretical studies predict the emergence of intricate magnetic textures, including block spin structures [2].
We present an investigation of epitaxial Ho films grown on W(110) using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM).
Through a detailed, thickness-dependent analysis of the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties,
we observed large in-plane magnetic domains spanning several hundred nanometers,
interspersed with worm-like striped patterns exhibiting periodicities of ≈ 20 nm in the magnetic signal.
Our findings provide valuable insights into the relationship between dimensionality and magnetic order in REM films.
[1] D. L. Strandburg et al., Phys. Rev. 127, 2046 (1962)
[2] E. Weschke et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 157204 (2004)
Keywords: SP-STM; Rare-Earth Metals; Magnetic structure; Holmium; Epitaxial growth