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Switching the in-plane easy axis by ion implantation in rare earth based magnetic films

Switching the in-plane easy axis by ion implantation in rare earth based magnetic films
Switching the in-plane easy axis by ion implantation in rare earth based magnetic films
Ar(+) ions have been implanted into Laves phase epitaxial thin films of YFe(2) and DyFe(2). Magneto-optical Kerr effect and vibrating sample magnetometry experiments show that the easy and hard axes of magnetization in both materials rotate through an in-plane angle of 90°, whilst the strength of the magnetic anisotropy remains unaltered. This is supported by OOMMF computational modelling. Atomic force microscopy confirms that the film roughness is not affected by implanted ions. X-ray diffraction data show that the lattice parameter expands upon ion implantation, corresponding to a release of strain throughout the entire film following implantation with a critical fluence of 10(17)Ar(+) ions cm(-2). The anisotropy of the films is linked to the strain and from these data it is concluded that the source of anisotropy alters from one where magnetoelastic and magnetocrystalline effects compete to one which is governed solely by magnetocrystalline effects. The ability to locally tune the source of magnetic anisotropy without affecting the film surface and without inducing or eliminating anisotropy could be important in the fabrication of high density magnetic data storage media, spintronic devices and magneto-optical materials.
0953-8984
086002-[6pp]
Buckingham, A.R.
548e73f8-e1ed-4bc7-bf30-792048929658
Wang, D.
8c543acd-825f-4f34-948a-dcd2e289f0aa
Stenning, G.B.G.
0ea80ad9-e72e-45bb-bf0a-3df9a2e65cda
Bowden, G.J.
f73a1c01-4d38-4170-bf30-9ebfa4283807
Nandhakumar, I.
e9850fe5-1152-4df8-8a26-ed44b5564b04
Ward, R.C.C.
b5eaa153-e136-4555-8b07-325a4b5329cb
de Groot, P.A.J.
98c21141-cf90-4e5c-8f2b-d2aae8efb84d
Buckingham, A.R.
548e73f8-e1ed-4bc7-bf30-792048929658
Wang, D.
8c543acd-825f-4f34-948a-dcd2e289f0aa
Stenning, G.B.G.
0ea80ad9-e72e-45bb-bf0a-3df9a2e65cda
Bowden, G.J.
f73a1c01-4d38-4170-bf30-9ebfa4283807
Nandhakumar, I.
e9850fe5-1152-4df8-8a26-ed44b5564b04
Ward, R.C.C.
b5eaa153-e136-4555-8b07-325a4b5329cb
de Groot, P.A.J.
98c21141-cf90-4e5c-8f2b-d2aae8efb84d

Buckingham, A.R., Wang, D., Stenning, G.B.G., Bowden, G.J., Nandhakumar, I., Ward, R.C.C. and de Groot, P.A.J. (2013) Switching the in-plane easy axis by ion implantation in rare earth based magnetic films. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 25 (8), 086002-[6pp]. (doi:10.1088/0953-8984/25/8/086002).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Ar(+) ions have been implanted into Laves phase epitaxial thin films of YFe(2) and DyFe(2). Magneto-optical Kerr effect and vibrating sample magnetometry experiments show that the easy and hard axes of magnetization in both materials rotate through an in-plane angle of 90°, whilst the strength of the magnetic anisotropy remains unaltered. This is supported by OOMMF computational modelling. Atomic force microscopy confirms that the film roughness is not affected by implanted ions. X-ray diffraction data show that the lattice parameter expands upon ion implantation, corresponding to a release of strain throughout the entire film following implantation with a critical fluence of 10(17)Ar(+) ions cm(-2). The anisotropy of the films is linked to the strain and from these data it is concluded that the source of anisotropy alters from one where magnetoelastic and magnetocrystalline effects compete to one which is governed solely by magnetocrystalline effects. The ability to locally tune the source of magnetic anisotropy without affecting the film surface and without inducing or eliminating anisotropy could be important in the fabrication of high density magnetic data storage media, spintronic devices and magneto-optical materials.

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More information

Published date: 2013
Organisations: Physics & Astronomy, Molecular Diagnostics & Thereputics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 348775
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/348775
ISSN: 0953-8984
PURE UUID: 05a5a86d-a640-4707-bcd5-cb0fa7225dfc
ORCID for I. Nandhakumar: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9668-9126

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Date deposited: 19 Feb 2013 14:19
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:57

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Contributors

Author: A.R. Buckingham
Author: D. Wang
Author: G.B.G. Stenning
Author: G.J. Bowden
Author: I. Nandhakumar ORCID iD
Author: R.C.C. Ward
Author: P.A.J. de Groot

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