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In spin-transport experiments with spin currents propagating through an antiferromagnetic (AFM) material, the antiferromagnet is mainly treated as a passive spin conductor not generating nor adding any spin current to the system. The spin current transmissivity of the AFM NiO is affected by magnetic fluctuations, peaking at the N\'eel temperature and decreasing by lowering the temperature. To study the role of antiferromagnetism in local and nonlocal spin-transport experiments, we send spin currents through NiO of various thicknesses placed on ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$. The spin currents are injected either electrically or by thermal gradients and measured at a wide range of temperatures and magnetic field strengths. The transmissive role is reflected in the sign change of the local electrically injected signals and the decrease in signal strength of all other signals by lowering the temperature. The thermally generated signals, however, show an additional upturn below $100\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ that is unaffected by an increased NiO thickness. A change in the thermal conductivity could affect these signals. The temperature and magnetic field dependence are similar to those for bulk NiO, indicating that NiO itself contributes to thermally induced spin currents.

We report on spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) and spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in a single crystal of the rare-earth antiferromagnet DyFeO3 with a thin Pt film contact. The angular shape and symmetry of the SMR at elevated temperatures reflect the antiferromagnetic order of the Fe3+ moments as governed by the Zeeman energy, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We interpret the observed linear dependence of the signal on the magnetic field strength as evidence for field-induced order of the Dy3+ moments up to room temperature. At and below the Morin temperature of 50 K, the SMR monitors the spin-reorientation phase transition of Fe3+ spins. Below 23 K, additional features emerge that persist below 4 K, the ordering temperature of the Dy3+ magnetic sublattice. We conclude that the combination of SMR and SSE is a simple and efficient tool to study spin reorientation phase transitions and sublattice magnetizations.

In spintronics and spin caloritronics, the understanding of spin angular momentum transfer across heavy metal/ferromagnetic insulator interfaces is of fundamental importance. There has been much controversy about the presence of magnetic proximity effects at such interfaces. Using element-selective x-ray and angle-resolved magnetotransport measurements, the authors present here a systematic study of Pt/Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ heterostructures, with different order of the layer stacking resulting in different interface properties. They demonstrate that combined temperature-dependent x-ray and magnetotransport studies are essential to unambiguously confirm or exclude the presence of magnetic proximity effects.

Efficient spin injection from epitaxial ferrimagnetic ${\mathrm{Ni}\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ thin films into a $\mathrm{Pd}$ layer is demonstrated via spin Seebeck effect measurements in the longitudinal geometry. The ${\mathrm{Ni}\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ films (60 nm to 1 $\ensuremath{\mu}$) are grown by pulsed-laser deposition on isostructural spinel ${\mathrm{Mg}\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$, ${\mathrm{Mg}\mathrm{Ga}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$, and ${\mathrm{Co}\mathrm{Ga}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ substrates with lattice mismatch varying between 3.2 and 0.2%. For the thinner films ($\ensuremath{\le}330$ nm), an increase in the spin Seebeck voltage is observed with decreasing lattice mismatch, which correlates well with a decrease in the Gilbert damping parameter as determined from ferromagnetic resonance measurements. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies indicate substantial decrease of antiphase boundary and interface defects that cause strain relaxation, i.e., misfit dislocations, in the films with decreasing lattice mismatch. This highlights the importance of reducing structural defects in spinel ferrites for efficient spin injection. It is further shown that angle-dependent spin Seebeck effect measurements provide a qualitative method to probe for in-plane magnetic anisotropies present in the films.

The Heusler compound Co$_2$MnSi provides a crystallographic transition from B2 to L2$_1$ structure with increasing annealing temperature $T_a$, being a model system for investigating the influence of crystallographic ordering on structural, magnetic, optic, and magnetooptic (MO) properties. Here, we present quadratic magnetooptic Kerr effect (QMOKE) spectra depending on $M^2$ in addition to the linear magnetooptic Kerr effect (LinMOKE) spectra being proportional to $M$, both in the extended visible spectral range of light from 0.8\,eV to 5.5\,eV. We investigated a set of Co$_2$MnSi thin films deposited on MgO(001) substrates and annealed from 300$^\circ$C to 500$^\circ$C. The amplitude of LinMOKE and QMOKE spectra scales linearly with $T_a$, and this effect is well pronounced at the resonant peaks below 2.0\,eV of the QMOKE spectra. Furthermore, the spectra of the MO parameters, which fully describe the MO response of Co$_2$MnSi up to the second order in $M$, are obtained dependend on $T_a$. Finally, the spectra are compared to ab-initio calculations of a purely L2$_1$ ordered Co$_2$MnSi Heusler compound., 4 pages, 3 figures, supplemental pdf, supplemental data files

Spin-dependent charge transport in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) can be manipulated by a temperature gradient, which can be utilized for spintronic and spin caloritronic applications. Evaluation of the thermally induced phenomena requires knowledge of the temperature differences across the oxide tunnel barrier adjacent to the ferromagnetic (FM) leads. However, it is challenging to accurately measure thermal properties of an oxide tunnel barrier consisting of only a few atomic layers. In this work, we experimentally interrogate the temperature evolutions in Ru/oxide/FM/seed/MgO (oxide=MgO, MgAl2O4; FM=Co, CoFeB; seed=Pt, Ta) structures having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy using ultrafast thermometry. The Ru layer is optically thick and heated by ultrafast laser pulses; the subsequent temperature changes are monitored using thermoreflectance of Ru and magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) of the FM layers. We independently measure the response times of Co and CoFeB magnetism using quadratic MOKE and obtain {\tau}em=0.2 ps for Co and 2 ps for CoFeB. These time scales are much shorter than the time scale of heat transport through the oxide tunnel barrier, which occurs at 10-3000 ps. We determine effective thermal conductivities of MgO and MgAl2O4 tunnel barriers in the range of 0.4-0.6 W m-1 K-1, comparable to an estimate of the series conductance of the Ru/oxide and oxide/FM interfaces and an order of magnitude smaller than the thermal conductivity of MgO thin films. We find that the electron-phonon thermal conductance near the tunnel barrier is only a factor of 5-12 larger than the thermal conductance of the oxide tunnel barrier. Therefore, the drop in the electronic temperature is approximately 20-30% larger than the drop in the phonon temperature across the tunnel barrier., Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures

Journal of physics / D Applied physics 53(37), 1-16 (2020). doi:10.1088/1361-6463/ab8fdc, X-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity (XRMR) is a powerful method to determine the optical, structural and magnetic depth profiles of a variety of thin film systems. Here, we investigate samples of different complexity all measured at the Pt $\mathrm{L}_3$ absorption edge to determine the optimal procedure for the analysis of the experimental XRMR curves, especially for nontrivial bi- and multilayer samples that include differently bonded Pt from layer to layer. The software tool ReMagX is used to fit these data and model the magnetooptic depth profiles based on a highly adaptable layer stack which is modified to be a more precise and physically consistent representation of the real multilayer system. Various fitting algorithms, iterative optimization approaches and a detailed analysis of the asymmetry ratio features as well as χ 2 (goodness of fit) landscapes are utilized to improve the agreement between measurements and simulations. We present a step-by-step analysis procedure tailored to the Pt thin film systems to take advantage of the excellent magnetic sensitivity and depth resolution of XRMR., Published by IOP Publ., Bristol

The magnetic proximity effect in top and bottom Pt layers induced by Co in Ta/Pt/Co/Pt multilayers has been studied by interface sensitive, element specific x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity. The asymmetry ratio for circularly polarized x-rays of left and right helicity has been measured at the Pt $L_3$ absorption edge (11567 eV) with an in-plane magnetic field ($\pm158$ mT) to verify its magnetic origin. The proximity-induced magnetic moment in the bottom Pt layer decreases with the thickness of the Ta buffer layer. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction has been carried out to show that the Ta buffer layer induces the growth of Pt(011) rather than Pt(111) which in turn reduces the induced moment. A detailed density functional theory study shows that an adjacent Co layer induces more magnetic moment in Pt(111) than in Pt(011). The manipulation of the magnetism in Pt by the insertion of a Ta buffer layer provides a new way of controlling the magnetic proximity effect which is of huge importance in spin-transport experiments across similar kind of interfaces., 7 pages, 9 figures

We have developed a vectorial type of measurement for the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in epitaxial NiFe$_2$O$_4$ thin films which have been grown by pulsed laser deposition on MgGa$_2$O$_4$ (MGO) with (001) and (011) orientation as well as CoGa$_2$O$_4$ (011) (CGO), thus varying the lattice mismatch and crystal orientation. We confirm that a large lattice mismatch leads to strain anisotropy in addition to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the thin films using vibrating sample magnetometry and ferromagnetic resonance measurements. Moreover, we show that the existence of a magnetic strain anisotropy in NiFe$_2$O$_4$ thin films significantly impacts the shape and magnitude of the magnetic-field-dependent SSE voltage loops. We further demonstrate that bidirectional field-dependent SSE voltage curves can be utilized to reveal the complete magnetization reversal process, which establishes a vectorial magnetometry technique based on a spin caloric effect., 5 pages, 4 figures

Measuring spin currents and spin accumulations is challenging. This is mainly because of their small size and the lack of a standard spin detector comparable to conventional ampere meters or voltage detectors. It is all the more pleasing to hear about new methods for detecting spin currents and spin accumulations. A recent example is the paper of McLaughlin et al. [Phys. Rev. B 95, 180401 (2017)], who report novel measurements of the transverse spin-Seebeck effect (TSSE) in metals by optical means using a Sagnac interferometer microscope. However, because no standard procedures or reference measurements are available for verification, critical discussions are crucial for evaluation of such novel experimental approaches. In our comment, we estimate the size of the effect observed by McLaughlin et al. To illustrate that the estimated size is exceptionally large, we use a comparison with another spin-caloritronic effect: the spin-dependent Seebeck effect. Such a large TSSE is in contradiction with previous experiments that could not resolve a TSSE signal. Therefore, we suggest that signal measured by McLaughlin et al. is not or not only caused by the TSSE.

The magnetooptic Kerr effect (MOKE) is a well known and handy tool to characterize ferro-, ferri- and antiferromagnetic materials. Many of the MOKE techniques employ effects solely linear in magnetization $\bm{M}$. Nevertheless, a higher-order term being proportional to $\bm{M}^2$ and called quadratic MOKE (QMOKE) can additionally contribute to the experimental data. Here, we present detailed QMOKE spectroscopy measurements in the range of 0.8 -- 5.5\,eV based on a modified 8-directional method applied on ferromagnetic bcc Fe thin films grown on MgO substrates. From the measured QMOKE spectra, two further complex spectra of the QMOKE parameters $G_s$ and $2G_{44}$ are yielded. The difference between those two parameters, known as $\Delta G$, denotes the strength of the QMOKE anisotropy. Those QMOKE parameters give rise to the QMOKE tensor $\bm{G}$, fully describing the perturbation of the permittivity tensor in the second order in $\bm{M}$ for cubic crystal structures. We further present experimental measurements of ellipsometry and linear MOKE spectra, wherefrom permittivity in the zeroth and the first order in $\bm{M}$ are obtained, respectively. Finally, all those spectra are described by ab-initio calculations., Comment: 15 pages + references, , 15 Figures

Applied physics letters 118(8), 089901 (2021). doi:10.1063/5.0045052, Published by American Inst. of Physics, Melville, NY

MMM 2019, ; AIP Advances 10(1), 015154 (2020). doi:10.1063/1.5130031, In this work, we study the influence of the magnetic proximity effect (MPE) in Pt on the total magnetic moment of thin film trilayer systems consisting of the ferromagnet (FM) Co adjacent to the heavy metals (HMs) Pt and Ta. We investigate the trilayer systems HM1/FM/HM2 with different stacking order as well as a reference bilayer without any MPE. X-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity (XRMR) is a powerful tool to probe induced magnetism, especially when buried at interfaces in a multilayer. By using XRMR, we are able to obtain magnetic depth profiles of the structural, optical and magnetic parameters. By fitting the experimental data with a Gaussian-like magnetooptic profile taking the structural roughness at the interface into account, we can extract the magnetic moment of the spin-polarized layer. Comparing the obtained moments to the measured total moment of the sample, we can determine the impact of the MPE on the total magnetic moment of the system. Such information can be critical for analyzing spin transport experiments, including spin-orbit torque and spin Hall angle measurements, where the saturation magnetization Ms has to be taken into account. Therefore, by combining magnetization measurements and XRMR methods we were able to get a complete picture of the magnetic moment distribution in these trilayer systems containing spin-polarized Pt., Published by American Inst. of Physics, New York, NY

The rising field of spin caloritronics focuses on the interactions between spin and heat currents in a magnetic material. The observation of the spin Seebeck effect opened the route to this branch of research making possible the design of thermoelectric devices made of insulating magnetic materials. A round robin test performed by five partners on a single device highlighted the reproducibility problems related to the measurements of the spin Seebeck coefficient, the quantity that describes the strength of the spin Seebeck effect. This work stimulated the search for more reproducible measurement methods.

We present a comparative study of the morphology and structural as well as magnetic properties of crystalline Fe3O4/NiO bilayers grown on both MgO(001) and SrTiO3(001) substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. These structures were investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, X-ray reflectivity and diffraction, as well as vibrating sample magnetometry. While the lattice mismatch of NiO grown on MgO(001) was only 0.8%, it was exposed to a lateral lattice mismatch of −6.9% if grown on SrTiO3. In the case of Fe3O4, the misfit strain on MgO(001) and SrTiO3(001) amounted to 0.3% and −7.5%, respectively. To clarify the relaxation process of the bilayer system, the film thicknesses of the magnetite and nickel oxide films were varied between 5 and 20 nm. While NiO films were well ordered on both substrates, Fe3O4 films grown on NiO/SrTiO3 exhibited a higher surface roughness as well as lower structural ordering compared to films grown on NiO/MgO. Further, NiO films grew pseudomorphic in the investigated thickness range on MgO substrates without any indication of relaxation, whereas on SrTiO3 the NiO films showed strong strain relaxation. Fe3O4 films also exhibited strong relaxation, even for films of 5 nm thickness on both NiO/MgO and NiO/SrTiO3. The magnetite layers on both substrates showed a fourfold magnetic in-plane anisotropy with magnetic easy axes pointing in 100 directions. The coercive field was strongly enhanced for magnetite grown on NiO/SrTiO3 due to the higher density of structural defects, compared to magnetite grown on NiO/MgO.

We present a comparative study of the morphology and structural as well as magnetic properties of crystalline Fe₃O₄/NiO bilayers grown on both MgO(001) and SrTiO₃(001) substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. These structures were investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, X-ray reflectivity and diffraction, as well as vibrating sample magnetometry. While the lattice mismatch of NiO grown on MgO(001) was only 0.8%, it was exposed to a lateral lattice mismatch ofminus;6.9% if grown on SrTiO₃. In the case of Fe₃O₄, the misfit strain on MgO(001) and SrTiO₃(001) amounted to 0.3% andminus;7.5%, respectively. To clarify the relaxation process of the bilayer system, the film thicknesses of the magnetite and nickel oxide films were varied between 5 and 20 nm. While NiO films were well ordered on both substrates, Fe₃O₄ films grown on NiO/SrTiO₃ exhibited a higher surface roughness as well as lower structural ordering compared to films grown on NiO/MgO. Further, NiO films grew pseudomorphic in the investigated thickness range on MgO substrates without any indication of relaxation, whereas on SrTiO₃ the NiO films showed strong strain relaxation. Fe₃O₄ films also exhibited strong relaxation, even for films of 5 nm thickness on both NiO/MgO and NiO/SrTiO₃. The magnetite layers on both substrates showed a fourfold magnetic in-plane anisotropy with magnetic easy axes pointing in 100 directions. The coercive field was strongly enhanced for magnetite grown on NiO/SrTiO₃ due to the higher density of structural defects, compared to magnetite grown on NiO/MgO.

In general, it is difficult to access the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films experimentally just by electrical means. Here, we present a new approach utilizing the tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect (TMS) in combination with finite-element modeling (FEM). We detect the laser-induced TMS and the absolute thermovoltage of laser-heated magnetic tunnel junctions with 2.6 nm thin barriers of MgAl$_2$O$_4$ (MAO) and MgO, respectively. A second measurement of the absolute thermovoltage after a dielectric breakdown of the barrier grants insight into the remaining thermovoltage of the stack. Thus, the pure TMS without any parasitic Nernst contributions from the leads can be identified. In combination with FEM via COMSOL, we are able to extract values for the thermal conductivity of MAO ($0.7$ W/(K$\cdot$m)) and MgO ($5.8$ W/(K$\cdot$m)), which are in very good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our method provides a new promising way to extract the experimentally challenging parameter of the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films.

The rising field of spin caloritronics focuses on the interactions between spin and heat currents in a magnetic material; the observation of the spin Seebeck effect opened the route to this branch of research. This paper reports the results of a round robin test performed by five partners on a single device highlighting the reproducibility problems related to the measurements of the spin Seebeck coefficient, the quantity that describes the strength of the spin Seebeck effect. This work stimulated the search for more reproducible measurement methods through the analysis of the systematic effects., Comment: PDFLaTeX, 8 pages, 8 figures

We investigate the influence of the barrier thickness of ${\mathrm{Co}}_{40}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{40}{\mathrm{B}}_{20}$-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) on the laser-induced tunnel magneto-Seebeck (TMS) effect. Varying the barrier thickness from 1 to 3 nm, we find a distinct maximum in the TMS effect for a 2.6-nm barrier thickness. This maximum is measured independently for two barrier materials, namely, ${\mathrm{MgAl}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ (MAO) and MgO. Additionally, samples with a MAO barrier exhibit a high thermovoltage of more than $350\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{V}$ in comparison to $90\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{V}$ for the MTJs with a MgO barrier when heated with the maximum laser power of 150 mW. Our results allow for the fabrication of improved stacks when dealing with temperature differences across MTJs for future applications in spin caloritronics, the emerging research field that combines spintronics and thermoelectrics.

We identify and investigate thermal spin transport phenomena in sputter-deposited $\mathrm{Pt}/{\mathrm{NiFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{x}$ ($4\ensuremath{\ge}x\ensuremath{\ge}0$) bilayers. We separate the voltage generated by the spin Seebeck effect from the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) contributions and even disentangle the ANE in the ferromagnet (FM) from the ANE produced by the Pt that is spin polarized due to its proximity to the FM. Further, we probe the dependence of these effects on the electrical conductivity and the band gap energy of the FM film varying from nearly insulating ${\mathrm{NiFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ to metallic ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{33}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{67}$. A proximity-induced ANE could only be identified in the metallic $\mathrm{Pt}/{\mathrm{Ni}}_{33}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{67}$ bilayer in contrast to $\mathrm{Pt}/{\mathrm{NiFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{x}$ ($xg0$) samples. This is verified by the investigation of static magnetic proximity effects via x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity.

Spin caloritronics studies the interplay between charge-, heat- and spin-currents, which are initiated by temperature gradients in magnetic nanostructures. A plethora of new phenomena has been discovered that promises, e.g., to make wasted heat in electronic devices useable or to provide new read-out mechanisms for information. However, only few materials have been studied so far with Seebeck voltages of only some {\mu}V, which hampers applications. Here, we demonstrate that half-metallic Heusler compounds are hot candidates for enhancing spin-dependent thermoelectric effects. This becomes evident when considering the asymmetry of the spin-split density of electronic states around the Fermi level that determines the spin-dependent thermoelectric transport in magnetic tunnel junctions. We identify Co$_2$FeAl and Co$_2$FeSi Heusler compounds as ideal due to their energy gaps in the minority density of states, and demonstrate devices with substantially larger Seebeck voltages and tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect ratios than the commonly used Co-Fe-B based junctions., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

The spin Seebeck effect (SSE) is observed in magnetic insulator|heavy metal bilayers as an inverse spin Hall effect voltage under a temperature gradient. The SSE can be detected nonlocally as well, viz. in terms of the voltage in a second metallic contact (detector) on the magnetic film, spatially separated from the first contact that is used to apply the temperature bias (injector). Magnon-polarons are hybridized lattice and spin waves in magnetic materials, generated by the magnetoelastic interaction. Kikkawa et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{117}, 207203 (2016)] interpreted a resonant enhancement of the local SSE in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) as a function of the magnetic field in terms of magnon-polaron formation. Here we report the observation of magnon-polarons in \emph{nonlocal} magnon spin injection/detection devices for various injector-detector spacings and sample temperatures. Unexpectedly, we find that the magnon-polaron resonances can suppress rather than enhance the nonlocal SSE. Using finite element modelling we explain our observations as a competition between the SSE and spin diffusion in YIG. These results give unprecedented insights into the magnon-phonon interaction in a key magnetic material., 5 pages, 6 figures

We report on spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) measurements of Pt Hall bars on antiferromagnetic NiO(111) single crystals. An SMR with a sign opposite to conventional SMR is observed over a wide range of temperatures as well as magnetic fields stronger than 0.25 T. The negative sign of the SMR can be explained by the alignment of magnetic moments being almost perpendicular to the external magnetic field within the easy plane (111) of the antiferromagnet. This correlation of magnetic moment alignment and the external magnetic field direction is realized just by the easy-plane nature of the material without the need of any exchange coupling to an additional ferromagnet. The SMR signal strength decreases with increasing temperature, primarily due to the decrease in Neel order by including fluctuations. An increasing magnetic field increases the SMR signal strength as there are fewer domains, and the magnetic moments are more strongly manipulated at high magnetic fields. The SMR is saturated at an applied magnetic field of 6 T, resulting in a spin-mixing conductance of similar to 10(18) Omega(-1) m(-2), which is comparable to that of Pt on insulating ferrimagnets such as yttrium iron garnet. An argon plasma treatment doubles the spin-mixing conductance. Published by AIP Publishing.

The determination of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) coefficient is currently plagued by a large uncertainty due to the poor reproducibility of the experimental conditions used in its measurement. In this work we present a detailed analysis of two different methods used for the determination of the LSSE coefficient. We have performed LSSE experiments in different laboratories, by using different setups and employing both the temperature difference method and the heat flux method. We found that the lack of reproducibility can be mainly attributed to the thermal contact resistance between the sample and the thermal baths which generate the temperature gradient. Due to the variation of the thermal resistance, we found that the scaling of the LSSE voltage to the heat flux through the sample rather than to the temperature difference across the sample greatly reduces the uncertainty. The characteristics of a single YIG/Pt LSSE device obtained with two different setups was $(1.143\pm0.007)\cdot 10^{-7}$ Vm/W and $(1.101\pm0.015)\cdot 10^{-7}$ Vm/W with the heat flux method and $(2.313\pm0.017)\cdot 10^{-7}$ V/K and $(4.956\pm0.005)\cdot 10^{-7}$ V/K with the temperature difference method. This shows that systematic errors can be considerably reduced with the heat flux method., PDFLaTeX, 10 pages, 6 figures

The manipulation of the magnetization by spin-orbit torques (SOTs) has recently been extensively studied due to its potential for efficiently writing information in magnetic memories. Particular attention is paid to non-centrosymmetric systems with space inversion asymmetry, where SOTs emerge even in single-layer materials. The half-metallic half-Heusler PtMnSb is an interesting candidate for studies of this intrinsic SOT. Here, we report on the growth and epitaxial properties of PtMnSb thin films and PtMnSb/Pt bilayers deposited on MgO(001) substrates by dc magnetron co-sputtering at high temperature in ultra-high vacuum. The film properties were investigated by x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, atomic force microscopy, and electron microscopy. Thin PtMnSb films present a monocrystalline C1b phase with (001) orientation, coexisting at increasing thickness with a polycrystalline phase with (111) texture. Films thinner than about 5 nm grow in islands, whereas thicker films grow layer-by-layer, forming a perfect MgO/PtMnSb interface. The thin PtMnSb/Pt bilayers also show island growth and a defective transition zone, while thicker films grow layer-by-layer and Pt grows epitaxially on the half-Heusler compound without significant interdiffusion., 5 pages, 4 figures

We report magnon spin transport in nickel ferrite (NiFe$_2$O$_4$, NFO)/ platinum (Pt) bilayer systems at room temperature. A nonlocal geometry is employed, where the magnons are excited by the spin Hall effect or by the Joule heating induced spin Seebeck effect at the Pt injector, and detected at a certain distance away by the inverse spin Hall effect at the Pt detector. The dependence of the nonlocal magnon spin signals as a function of the magnetic field is closely related to the NFO magnetization behavior. In contrast, we observe that the magnetoresistance measured locally at the Pt injector does not show a clear relation with the average NFO magnetization. We estimate the magnon spin relaxation length to be 3.1 $\pm$ 0.2 $\mu$m in the investigated NFO samples., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We fabricated NiFe2Ox thin films on MgAl2O4(001) by reactive dc magnetron co-sputtering varying the oxygen partial pressure. The fabrication of a material with a variable oxygen deficiency leads to controllable electrical and optical properties which are beneficial for the investigations of the transport phenomena and could, therefore, promote the use of such materials in spintronic and spin caloritronic applications. We used several characterization techniques to investigate the film properties, focusing on their structural, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties. From the electrical resistivity, we obtained the conduction mechanisms that govern the systems in the high and low temperature regimes. We further extracted low thermal activation energies which unveil extrinsic transport mechanisms. The thermal activation energy decreases in the less oxidized samples revealing the pronounced contribution of a large amount of electronic states localized in the band gap to the electrical conductivity. The Hall coefficient is negative and decreases with increasing conductivity as expected for n-type conduction, while the Hall- and the drift mobilities show a large difference. The optical band gaps were determined via ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. They follow a similar trend as the thermal activation energies, with lower band gap values in the less oxidized samples.

Ferrites with (inverse) spinel structure display a large variety of electronic and magnetic properties, making some of them interesting for potential applications in spintronics. We investigate the thermally induced interdiffusion of ${\mathrm{Ni}}^{2+}$ ions out of NiO into ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ ultrathin films, resulting in off-stoichiometric nickel ferrite--like thin layers. We synthesized epitaxial ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$/NiO bilayers on Nb-doped ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$(001) substrates by means of reactive molecular beam epitaxy. Subsequently, we performed an annealing cycle comprising three steps at temperatures of 400 ${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$, 600 ${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$, and 800 ${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}\mathrm{C}$ under an oxygen background atmosphere. We studied the changes of the chemical and electronic properties as result of each annealing step with help of hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and found a rather homogeneous distribution of Ni and Fe cations throughout the entire film after the overall annealing cycle. For one sample we observed a cationic distribution close to that of the spinel ferrite ${\mathrm{NiFe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$. Further evidence comes from low-energy electron diffraction patterns indicating a spinel-type structure at the surface after annealing. Site- and element-specific hysteresis loops performed by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism uncovered the antiferrimagnetic alignment between the octahedral coordinated ${\mathrm{Ni}}^{2+}$ and ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ ions and the ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ ion in tetrahedral coordination. We find a quite low coercive field of 0.02 T, indicating a rather low defect concentration within the thin ferrite films.

We present x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity (XRMR) as a very sensitive tool to detect proximity induced interface spin polarization in Pt/FM heterostructures. Different XRMR experiments are carried out and the results are evaluated for their dependence on the magneto-optical depth profile, the photon energy, the optical parameters, and the ferromagnetic material. We demonstrate that a detailed analysis of the reflected x-ray intensity gives insight into the spatial distribution of the spin polarization of a nonmagnetic metal across the interface to a ferromagnetic layer. The evaluation of the experimental results with simulations based on optical data from ab initio calculations provides the induced magnetic moment per Pt atom in the spin-polarized volume adjacent to the ferromagnet. For a series with different ferromagnetic materials consisting of Pt/Fe, $\text{Pt}/{\mathrm{Ni}}_{33}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{67}, \text{Pt}/{\mathrm{Ni}}_{81}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{19}$ (permalloy), and Pt/Ni bilayers we find the largest spin polarization in Pt/Fe and a much smaller magnetic proximity effect in Pt/Ni. Additional XRMR experiments with varying photon energy are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions for the energy dependence of the magneto-optical parameters and allow identifying the optical dispersion $\ensuremath{\delta}$ and absorption $\ensuremath{\beta}$ across the $\mathrm{Pt}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{L}}_{3}$-absorption edge.

We present a comparison of the tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect for laser-induced and intrinsic heating. Therefore, Co40Fe40B20/MgAl2O4 and Co25Fe55B20/MgO magnetic tunnel junctions have been prepared. The TMS ratio of 3% in case of the MAO MTJ agrees well with ratios found for other barrier materials, while the TMS ratio of 23% of the MgO MTJ emphasizes the influence of the CoFe composition. We find results using the intrinsic method that differ in sign and magnitude in comparison to the results of the laser heating. The intrinsic contributions can alternatively be explained by the Brinkman model and the given junction properties. Especially, we are able to demonstrate that the symmetric contribution is solely influenced by the barrier asymmetry. Thus, we conclude that the symmetry analysis used for the intrinsic method is not suitable to unambiguously identify an intrinsic tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect.

In this work we investigated thin films of the ferrimagnetic insulators YIG and NFO capped with thin Pt layers in terms of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE). The electric response detected in the Pt layer under an out-of-plane temperature gradient can be interpreted as a pure spin current converted into a charge current via the inverse spin Hall effect. Typically, the transverse voltage is the quantity investigated in LSSE measurements (in the range of \mu V). Here, we present the directly detected DC current (in the range of nA) as an alternative quantity. Furthermore, we investigate the resistance of the Pt layer in the LSSE configuration. We found an influence of the test current on the resistance. The typical shape of the LSSE curve varies for increasing test currents., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

SPIE OPTO, San Francisco, California ; Proceedings of SPIE 9749, 974917(2016). doi:10.1117/12.2219627, Ultrathin magnetite ($Fe_{3}O_{4}$) films are attractive for applications in the field of spintronics due to their ferrimagnetic behavior with assumed high degree of spin polarized electrons at the Fermi energy. For these applications, it is necessary to form epitactical bilayer structure combining ferrimagnetic magnetite with an antiferromagnetic layer. Therefore, here we study $Fe_{3}O_{4}$/NiO bilayers on MgO(001) substrates. Bilayers grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy are stoichiometric and have well-developed surface and interface structures. The NiO layers are laterally pinned to the structure of the MgO(001) substrate while the magnetite films gradually relax. The interfaces show smooth morphologies and the films have very homogeneous film thickness necessary for spintronical applications. The magnetic and magneto optical properties of the $Fe_{3}O_{4}$/NiO bilayers were probed by the magneto optical Kerr effect. Compared to single $Fe_{3}O_{4}$ layers on MgO(001), the bilayers show complicated ferrimagnetic behavior depending on the azimuthal direction of the external applied field. The coercive field of the bilayers, however, is increased with the coercive field of single layer $Fe_{3}O_{4}$/MgO(001) structures making the Fe3O4/NiO bilayers attractive for spintronic applications., Published by SPIE, Bellingham, Wash.

Angular-resolved measurements of the exchange-bias field and the coercive field are a powerful tool to distinguish between different competing magnetic anisotropies in polycrystalline exchange-bias layer systems. No simple analytical model is as yet available which considers time-dependent effects such as enhanced coercivity in magnetic easy and hard axis configurations arising from the grain-size distribution of the antiferromagnet. In this work, we expand an existing model class describing polycrystalline exchange-bias systems by a rotatable magnetic anisotropy taking into account the relaxation time of thermally unstable grains. Our calculations show that coercivity mediated by the rotatable magnetic anisotropy can be distinguished from coercivity arising from ferromagnetic anisotropy by the shape of the angular dependence. Additionally, we performed angular-resolved magnetization curve measurements using vectorial magneto-optic Kerr magnetometry. Fitting the proposed model to the experimental data shows excellent agreement and reveals the ferromagnetic anisotropy and properties connected to the grain-size distribution of the antiferromagnet. Therefore, a distinction between the different influences on coercivity and magnetic anisotropy becomes available.

We report time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect driven by an interfacial temperature difference between itinerant electrons and magnons. The measured time-evolution of spin accumulation induced by laser-excitation indicates transfer of angular momentum across Au/Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ and Cu/Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ interfaces on a picosecond time-scale. The product of spin-mixing conductance and interfacial spin Seebeck coefficient determined is of the order of $10^8$ A m$^{-2}$ K$^{-1}$., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

Electrical resistivities can be different for charge currents travelling parallel or perpendicular to the magnetization in magnetically ordered conductors or semiconductors, resulting in the well-known planar Hall effect and anisotropic magnetoresistance. Here, we study the analogous anisotropic magnetotransport behavior for magnons in a magnetic insulator Y$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$. Electrical and thermal magnon injection, and electrical detection methods are used at room temperature with transverse and longitudinal geometries to measure the magnon planar Hall effect and anisotropic magnetoresistance, respectively. We observe that the relative difference between magnon current conductivities parallel and perpendicular to the magnetization, with respect to the average magnon conductivity, i.e. $|(\sigma_{\parallel}^{\textrm{m}}-\sigma_{\perp}^{\textrm{m}})/\sigma_{0}^{\textrm{m}}|$ , is approximately 5% with the majority of the measured devices showing $\sigma_{\perp}^{\textrm{m}}>\sigma_{\parallel}^{\textrm{m}}$., Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures

We study the magnon spin transport in the magnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG) in a nonlocal experiment and compare the magnon spin excitation and detection for the heavy metal paramagnetic electrodes platinum (Pt|YIG|Pt) and tantalum (Ta|YIG|Ta). The electrical injection and detection processes rely on the (inverse) spin Hall effect in the heavy metals and the conversion between the electron spin and magnon spin at the heavy metal|YIG interface. Pt and Ta possess opposite signs of the spin Hall angle. Furthermore, their heterostructures with YIG have different interface properties, i.e. spin mixing conductances. By varying the distance between injector and detector, the magnon spin transport is studied. Using a circuit model based on the diffusion-relaxation transport theory, a similar magnon relaxation length of ~ 10 \mu m was extracted from both Pt and Ta devices. By changing the injector and detector material from Pt to Ta, the influence of interface properties on the magnon spin transport has been observed. For Ta devices on YIG the spin mixing conductance is reduced compared with Pt devices, which is quantitatively consistent when comparing the dependence of the nonlocal signal on the injector-detector distance with the prediction from the circuit model., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

Transverse magneto-thermoelectric effects are studied in permalloy thin films grown on MgO substrates. We find that small parasitic magnetic fields below 1 Oe can produce artifacts of the order of 1 % of the amplitude of the anisotropic magneto-thermopower which is also detected in the experiments. The measured artifacts reveal a new source of uncertainties for the detection of the transverse spin Seebeck effect. Taking these results into account we conclude that the contribution of the transverse spin Seebeck effect to the detected voltages is below the noise level of 20 nV., Comment: 9 pages

The spin Seebeck effect, the generation of a spin current by a temperature gradient, has attracted great attention, but the interplay over a millimetre range along a thin ferromagnetic film as well as unintended side effects which hinder an unambiguous detection have evoked controversial discussions. Here, we investigate the inverse spin Hall voltage of a 10 nm thin Pt strip deposited on the magnetic insulators Y3Fe5O12 and NiFe2O4 with a temperature gradient in the film plane. We show characteristics typical of the spin Seebeck effect, although we do not observe the most striking features of the transverse spin Seebeck effect. Instead, we attribute the observed voltages to the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect generated by a contact tip induced parasitic out-of-plane temperature gradient, which depends on material, diameter and temperature of the tip., Measurements of the spin Seebeck effect, the generation of spin current in a ferromagnet due to a temperature gradient, are often hindered by parasitic effects. Here, the authors use ferromagnetic insulators to show how transverse spin Seebeck measurements can be explained by the longitudinal spin Seebeck.

The spin polarization of Pt in Pt/NiFe2O4 and Pt/Fe bilayers is studied by interface-sensitive x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity to investigate static magnetic proximity effects. The asymmetry ratio of the reflectivity is measured at the Pt L3 absorption edge using circular polarized x-rays for opposite directions of the magnetization at room temperature. The results of the 2% asymmetry ratio for Pt/Fe bilayers are independent of the Pt thickness between 1.8 and 20 nm. By comparison with ab initio calculations, the maximum magnetic moment per spin polarized Pt atom at the interface is determined to be (0.6±0.1) μB for Pt/Fe. For Pt/NiFe2O4 the asymmetry ratio drops below the sensitivity limit of 0.02 μB per Pt atom. Therefore, we conclude, that the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect recently observed in Pt/NiFe2O4 is not influenced by a proximity induced anomalous Nernst effect.

Integrated magneto-optical components require magnetic thin films for tuning of their parameters, and for many applications yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is the material of choice. The authors study high-quality cerium-substituted YIG thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition, which possess tunable magnetic anisotropy and a greatly enhanced magneto-optic Kerr effect, compared to conventional films. This discovery presents new opportunities for engineering tomorrow's magneto-optical and spintronic logic devices.

Iron oxide films with different thicknesses (7.6–30 nm) were grown on clean MgO(001) substrates using reactive molecular beam epitaxy at 250 °C depositing Fe in a 5 × 10−5 mbar oxygen atmosphere. X-ray photoelectron spectra and low energy electron diffraction experiments indicate the stoichiometry and the surface structure of magnetite (Fe3O4). Film thicknesses and the lattice constants were analyzed ex situ by x-ray reflectometry and x-ray diffraction, respectively. These experiments reveal the single crystalline and epitactic state of the iron oxide films. However, the obtained vertical layer distances are too small to be strained magnetite and would rather suit to maghemite. Although Raman spectroscopy carried out to analyze the present iron oxide phase showed that the films might have slightly been oxidized in ambient conditions, a posteriori performed XPS measurements exclude a strong oxidation of the surface. Therefore we consider the presence of anti phase boundaries to explain the low vertical layer distances of the magnetite films. Further magnetooptic Kerr measurements were performed to investigate the magnetic properties. While the thinnest film shows a magnetic isotropic behavior, the thicker films exhibit a fourfold magnetic in-plane anisotropy. The magnetic easy axes are in the Fe3O4 directions. We propose that the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is too weak for very thin iron oxide films to form fourfold anisotropy related to the cubic crystal structure.

Iron oxide films were reactively grown on iron buffer films, which were deposited before on MgO(001) substrates to analyze the influence of the initial iron buffer layers on the magnetic properties of the magnetite films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy electron dif-fraction showed that magnetite films of high crystalline quality in the surface near region were formed by this two-step deposition procedure. The underlying iron film, however, was completely oxidized as proved by x-ray reflectometry and diffraction. The structural bulk quality of the iron oxide film is poor compared to magnetite films directly grown on MgO(001). Although the iron film was completely oxidized, we found drastically modified magnetic properties for these films using the magnetooptic Kerr effect. The magnetite films had strongly increased coercive fields, and their magnetic in-plane anisotropy is in-plane rotated by 45° compared to magnetite films formed directly by one step reactive growth on MgO(001).