Observation of antiferromagnetic domains in epitaxial thin films

Antiferromagnetic domains in an epitaxial thin film, LaFeO(3) on SrTiO(3)(100), were observed using a high-spatial-resolution photoelectron emission microscope with contrast generated by the large x-ray magnetic linear dichroism effect at the multiplet-split L edge of Fe. The antiferromagnetic domains are linked to 90 degrees twinned crystallographic regions in the film. The Neel temperature of the thin film is reduced by 70 kelvin relative to the bulk material, and this reduction is attributed to epitaxial strain. These studies open the door for a microscopic understanding of the magnetic coupling across antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic interfaces.     

Origin of magnetization decay in spin-dependent tunnel junctions

Spin-dependent tunnel junctions based on magnetically hard and soft ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating barrier have emerged as prime candidates for information storage. However, the observed instability of the magnetically hard reference layer, leading to magnetization decay during field cycling of the adjacent soft layer, is a serious concern for future device applications. Using Lorentz electron microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, the hard-layer decay was found to result from large fringing fields surrounding magnetic domain walls in the magnetically soft layer. The formation and motion of these walls causes statistical flipping of magnetic moments in randomly oriented grains of the hard layer, with a progressive trend toward disorder and eventual demagnetization.     

Slow magnetic relaxation in iron: a ferromagnetic liquid

The remanent magnetization of single-crystal iron whiskers has been measured from 10(-5) to 10(4) seconds after the removal of an applied field. The observed response is accurately modeled by localized magnon relaxation on a Gaussian size distribution of dynamically correlated domains, virtually identical to the distribution of excitations in glass-forming liquids. When fields of less than 1 oersted are removed, some relaxation occurs before 10(-5) second has elapsed; but when larger fields are removed, essentially all of the response can be accounted for by magnon relaxation over the available time window. The model provides a physical picture for the mechanism and observed distribution of Landau-Lifshitz damping parameters.