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We show that magnetic skyrmions can be stabilized at room temperature in continuous Ir/Co/Pt multilayers on SiO2/Si substrate without prior application of electric current or magnetic field. While decreasing the Co thickness, tuning of the magnetic anisotropy gives rise to a transition from worm-like domain patterns to long and separate stripes. The skyrmions are clearly imaged in both states using Magnetic Force Microscopy. The density of skyrmions can be significantly enhanced after applying the in-plane field procedure. In addition, we have investigated the phase diagram of a sample deposited in the same run, but onto a SiNx membrane using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. Interestingly, this sample shows a different behaviour as function of magnetic field hinting to the influence of strain on the phase diagram of skyrmions in thin film multilayers. Our results provide means to manipulate skyrmion, further allowing for optimized engineering of skyrmion-based devices.

We report on the electrical transport properties of Nb based Josephson junctions with Pt/Co$_{68}$B$_{32}$/Pt ferromagnetic barriers. The barriers exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which has the main advantage for potential applications over magnetisation in-plane systems of not affecting the Fraunhofer response of the junction. In addition, we report that there is no magnetic dead layer at the Pt/Co$_{68}$B$_{32}$ interfaces, allowing us to study barriers with ultra-thin Co$_{68}$B$_{32}$. In the junctions, we observe that the magnitude of the critical current oscillates with increasing thickness of the Co$_{68}$B$_{32}$ strong ferromagnetic alloy layer. The oscillations are attributed to the ground state phase difference across the junctions being modified from zero to $��$. The multiple oscillations in the thickness range $0.2~\leqslant~d_\text{CoB}~\leqslant~1.4$~nm suggests that we have access to the first zero-$��$ and $��$-zero phase transitions. Our results fuel the development of low-temperature memory devices based on ferromagnetic Josephson junctions., Main text: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Supplementary information: 9 pages, 5 figures

Heavy metals are key to spintronics because of their high spin-orbit coupling (SOC) leading to efficient spin conversion and strong magnetic interactions. When C60 is deposited on Pt, the molecular interface is metallised and the spin Hall angle in YIG/Pt increased, leading to an enhancement of up to 600% in the spin Hall magnetoresistance and 700% for the anisotropic magnetoresistance. This correlates with Density Functional Theory simulations showing changes of 0.46 eV/C60 in the SOC of Pt. This effect opens the possibility of gating the molecular hybridisation and SOC of metals., 15 pages, 4 figures

Using spin waves we directly probe the interface of an exchange biased Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$/Ir$_{25}$Mn$_{75}$ film which has been modified by the presence of an Au dusting layer. Combining this experimental data with a discretised simulation model, parameters relating to interface exchange coupling and modification of interface magnetisation are determined. Exchange coupling is found to be relatively uniform as gold thickness is increased, and undergoes a sudden drop at 1.5$\textrm{\AA}$ of gold. Interface magnetisation decreases as a function of the gold dusting thickness. Antiparallel alignment of the ferromagnet and antiferromagnet supress the interface magnetisation compared to when they are in parallel alignment. These findings imply that the interface region has specific magnetisation states which depend on the ferromagnet orientation.

Broadband FMR responses for metallic single-layer and bi-layer magnetic films with total thicknesses smaller than the microwave magnetic skin depth have been studied. Two different types of microwave transducers were used to excite and detect magnetization precession: a narrow coplanar waveguide and a wide microstrip line. Both transducers show efficient excitation of higher-order standing spin wave modes. The ratio of amplitudes of the first standing spin wave to the fundamental resonant mode is independent of frequency for single films. In contrast, we find a strong variation of the amplitudes with frequency for bi-layers and the ratio is strongly dependent on the ordering of layers with respect to a stripline transducer. Most importantly, cavity FMR measurements on the same samples show considerably weaker amplitudes for the standing spin waves. All experimental data are consistent with expected effects due to screening by eddy currents in films with thicknesses below the microwave magnetic skin depth. Finally, conditions for observing eddy current effects in different types of experiments are critically examined.

Ferromagnetic resonance in conducting magnetic bilayers was studied using microstrip transducers. It was found that excitation or suppression of standing spin waves could be achieved through enhanced inhomogeneity of eddy currents in the bilayer caused by finite thickness. This effect is observable in films with thicknesses below the magnetic skin depth and can be used to study standing spin wave modes in heterostructures.

We determine the composition of intrinsic as well as extrinsic contributions to the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the isoelectronic L1o FePd and FePt alloys. We show that the AHE signal in our 30 nm thick epitaxially deposited films of FePd is mainly due to extrinsic side-jump, while in the epitaxial FePt films of the same thickness and degree of order the intrinsic contribution is dominating over the extrinsic mechanisms of the AHE. We relate this crossover to the difference in spin-orbit strength of Pt and Pd atoms and suggest that this phenomenon can be used for tuning the origins of the AHE in complex alloys., 4 pages, regular article, 4 figures accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

The field of spin electronics (spintronics) was initiated by the discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) for which Fert[1] and Grunberg[2] were awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics. GMR arises from differential scattering of the majority and minority spin electrons by a ferromagnet (FM) so that the resistance when the FM layers separated by non-magnetic (NM) spacers are aligned by an applied field is different to when they are antiparallel. In 1996 Slonczewski[3] and Berger[4] predicted that a large spin-polarised current could transfer spin-angular momentum and so exert a spin transfer torque (STT) sufficient to switch thin FM layers between stable magnetisation states[5] and, for even higher current densities, drive continuous precession which emits microwaves[6]. Thus, while GMR is a purely passive phenomenon which ultimately depends on the intrinsic band structure of the FM, STT adds an active element to spintronics by which the direction of the magnetisation may be manipulated. Here we show that highly non-equilibrium spin injection can modify the scattering asymmetry and, by extension, the intrinsic magnetism of a FM. This phenomenon is completely different to STT and provides a third ingredient which should further expand the range of opportunities for the application of spintronics., Comment: 8 pages

We report on the structural, magnetic, and electron transport properties of a L1o-ordered epitaxial iron-platinum alloy layer fabricated by magnetron-sputtering on a MgO(001) substrate. The film studied displayed a long range chemical order parameter of S~0.90, and hence has a very strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. In the diffusive electron transport regime, for temperatures ranging from 2 K to 258 K, we found hysteresis in the magnetoresistance mainly due to electron scattering from magnetic domain walls. At 2 K, we observed an overall domain wall magnetoresistance of about 0.5 %. By evaluating the spin current asymmetry alpha = sigma_up / sigma_down, we were able to estimate the diffusive spin current polarization. At all temperatures ranging from 2 K to 258 K, we found a diffusive spin current polarization of > 80%. To study the ballistic transport regime, we have performed point-contact Andreev-reflection measurements at 4.2 K. We obtained a value for the ballistic current spin polarization of ~42% (which compares very well with that of a polycrystalline thin film of elemental Fe). We attribute the discrepancy to a difference in the characteristic scattering times for oppositely spin-polarized electrons, such scattering times influencing the diffusive but not the ballistic current spin polarization., 22 pages, 13 figures

The effects of inserting impurity $��$-layers of various elements into a Co/IrMn exchange biased bilayer, at both the interface, and at given points within the IrMn layer a distance from the interface, has been investigated. Depending on the chemical species of dopant, and its position, we found that the exchange biasing can be either strongly enhanced or suppressed. We show that biasing is enhanced with a dusting of certain magnetic impurities, present at either at the interface or sufficiently far away from the Co/IrMn interface. This illustrates that the final spin structure at the Co/IrMn interface is not only governed by interface structure/roughness but is also mediated by local exchange or anisotropy variations within the bulk of the IrMn.

We present transport and structural data from epitaxial (100) and (111) Au/Fe multilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. From their analysis, we conclude that an electron channelling mechanism, due to strong specular reflection of the minority spin carrier at the Au/Fe interfaces, is responsible for the high conductivity in the (100) multilayers., Comment: faulty postscript figure files replaced

The properties of the archetypal Co/Cu giant magnetoresistance (GMR) spin-valve structure have been modified by the insertion of very thin (sub-monolayer) $��$-layers of various elements at different points within the Co layers, and at the Co/Cu interface. Different effects are observed depending on the nature of the impurity, its position within the periodic table, and its location within the spin-valve. The GMR can be strongly enhanced or suppressed for various specific combinations of these parameters, giving insight into the microscopic mechanisms giving rise to the GMR., 5 pages, 2 figures

We have carried out measurements of the magnetoresistance MR(H) in the CPP (Current Perpendicular to the Plane) mode for two types of magnetic multilayers which have different layer ordering. The series resistor model predicts that CPP MR(H) is independent of the ordering of the layers. Nevertheless, the measured MR(H) curves were found to be completely different for the following two configurations:[Co(1nm)/Cu(20nm)/Co(6nm)/Cu(20nm)]*N and [Co(1nm)/Cu(20nm)]*N[Co(6nm)/Cu(20nm)]*N showing that the above model is incorrect. We have carried out a calculation showing that these results can be explained quantitatively in terms of the non-local character of the electron scattering, without the need to invoke spin-flip scattering or a short spin diffusion length., 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRL

The in-plane correlation lengths and magnetic disorder of magnetic domains in a transition metal multilayer have been studied using neutron scattering techniques. A new theoretical framework is presented connecting the observed scattering to the in-plane correlation length and the dispersion of the local magnetization vector about the mean macroscopic direction. The results unambiguously show the highly correlated nature of the antiferromagnetically coupled domain structure vertically throughout the multilayer. We are easily able to relate the neutron determined magnetic dispersion and domain correlations to magnetization and magnetotransport experiments., 5 pages, 3 postscript figures