Search

Perpendicular magnetization is essential for high-density memory application using magnetic materials. High-spin polarization of conduction electrons is also required for realizing large electric signals from spin-dependent transport phenomena. Heusler alloy is a well-known material class showing the half-metallic electronic structure. However, its cubic lattice nature favors in-plane magnetization and thus minimizes the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), in general. This study focuses on an inverse-type Heusler alloy, Mn$_{2-\delta}$CoGa$_{1+\delta}$ (MCG) with a small off-stoichiometry ($\delta$) , which is expected to be a half-metallic material. We observed relatively large uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant ($K_\mathrm{u}$) of the order of 10$^5$ J/m$^3$ at room temperature in MCG films with a small tetragonal distortion of a few percent. A positive correlation was confirmed between the $c/a$ ratio of lattice constants and $K_\mathrm{u}$. Imaging of magnetic domains using Kerr microscopy clearly demonstrated a change in the domain patterns along with $K_\mathrm{u}$. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) was employed using synchrotron radiation soft x-ray beam to get insight into the origin for PMA. Negligible angular variation of orbital magnetic moment ($\Delta m_\mathrm{orb}$) evaluated using the XMCD spectra suggested a minor role of the so-called Bruno's term to $K_\mathrm{u}$. Our first principles calculation reasonably explained the small $\Delta m_\mathrm{orb}$ and the positive correlation between the $c/a$ ratio and $K_\mathrm{u}$. The origin of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy was discussed based on the second-order perturbation theory in terms of the spin--orbit coupling, claiming that the mixing of the occupied $\uparrow$- and the unoccupied $\downarrow$-spin states is responsible for the PMA of the MCG films.

We have studied the magnetization process of the new insulating ferromagnetic semiconductor (Al,Fe)Sb by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. For an optimally doped sample with 10% Fe, a magnetization was found to rapidly increase at low magnetic fields and to saturate at high magnetic fields at room temperature, well above the Curie temperature of 40 K. We attribute this behavior to the existence of nanoscale Fe-rich ferromagnetic domains acting as superparamagnets. By fitting the magnetization curves using the Langevin function representing superparamagnetism plus the paramagnetic linear function, we estimated the average magnetic moment of the nanoscale ferromagnetic domain to be 300-400 $\mu_{B}$, and the fraction of Fe atoms participating in the nano-scale ferromagnetism to be $\sim$50%. Such behavior was also reported for (In,Fe)As:Be and Ge:Fe, and seems to be a universal characteristic of the Fe-doped ferromagnetic semiconductors. Further Fe doping up to 14% led to the weakening of the ferromagnetism probably because antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction between nearest-neighbor Fe-Fe pairs becomes dominant.

We have elucidated the nature of the electron correlation effect in uranium compounds by imaging the partial $\mathrm{U}~5f$ density of states (pDOS) of typical itinerant, localized, and heavy fermion uranium compounds by using the $\mathrm{U}~4d-5f$ resonant photoemission spectroscopy. Obtained $\mathrm{U}~5f$ pDOS exhibit a systematic trend depending on the physical properties of compounds. The coherent peak at the Fermi level can be described by the band-structure calculation, but an incoherent peak emerges on the higher binding energy side ($\lesssim 1~\mathrm{eV}$) in the \Uf pDOS of localized and heavy fermion compounds. As the $\mathrm{U}~5f$ state is more localized, the intensity of the incoherent peak is enhanced and its energy position is shifted to higher binding energy. These behaviors are consistent with the prediction of the Mott metal-insulator transition, suggesting that the Hubbard-$U$ type mechanism takes an essential role in the $5f$ electronic structure of actinide materials., Comment: Accepted to PRB Dec. 22, 2018

The electronic structure and the magnetism of the novel ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Fe)Sb, whose Curie temperature $T_{\rm C}$ can exceed room temperature, were investigated by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), and resonance photoemission spectroscopy (RPES). The line-shape analyses of the XAS and XMCD spectra suggest that the ferromagnetism is of intrinsic origin. The orbital magnetic moments deduced using XMCD sum rules were found to be large, indicating that there is a considerable amount of 3$d^{6}$ contribution to the ground state of Fe. From RPES, we observed a strong dispersive Auger peak and non-dispersive resonantly enhanced peaks in the valence-band spectra. The latter is a fingerprint of the correlated nature of Fe 3$d$ electrons, whereas the former indicates their itinerant nature. It was also found that the Fe 3$d$ states have finite contribution to the DOS at the Fermi energy. These states presumably consisting of majority-spin $p$-$d$ hybridized states or minority-spin $e$ states would be responsible for the ferromagnetic order in this material.

We have performed x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements on the iron-based superconductor Sr$_2$VFeAsO$_{3-\delta}$ to study the origin of weak ferromagnetism (WFM) reported for this compound. While Fe 3$d$ electrons show a magnetic response similar to the other iron pnictides, signals from V 3$d$ electrons remain finite at zero magnetic field and may be responsible for the WFM.

We study the electronic structure and the magnetic properties of epitaxial (Ni1-xCox)Fe2O4(111) layers (x = 0 - 1) with thicknesses d = 1.7 - 5.2 nm grown on Al2O3(111)/Si(111) structures, to achieve a high value of inversion parameter y, which is the inverse-to-normal spinel-structure ratio, and hence to obtain good magnetic properties even when the thickness is thin enough for electron tunneling as a spin filter. We revealed the crystallographic (octahedral Oh or tetrahedral Td) sites and the valences of the Fe, Co, and Ni cations using experimental soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra and configuration-interaction cluster-model calculation. In all the (Ni1-xCox)Fe2O4 layers with d = about 4 nm, all Ni cations occupy the Ni2+ (Oh) site, whereas Co cations occupy the three different Co2+ (Oh), Co2+ (Td), and Co3+ (Oh) sites with constant occupancies. According to these features, the occupancy of the Fe3+ (Oh) cations decreases and that of the Fe3+ (Td) cations increases with decreasing x. Consequently, we obtained a systematic increase of y with decreasing x and achieved the highest y value of 0.91 for the NiFe2O4 layer with d = 3.5 nm. From the d dependences of y and magnetization in the d range of 1.7 - 5.2 nm, a magnetically dead layer is present near the NiFe2O4/Al2O3 interface, but its influence on the magnetization was significantly suppressed compared with the case of CoFe2O4 layers reported previously [Y. K. Wakabayasi et al., Phys. Rev. B 96, 104410 (2017)], due to the high site selectivity of the Ni cations. Since our epitaxial NiFe2O4 layer with d = 3.5 nm has a high y values (0.91) and a reasonably large magnetization (180 emu/cc), it is expected to exhibit a strong spin filter effect, which can be used for efficient spin injection into Si., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1704.01712

The electronic structures of UX$_3$ (X=Al, Ga, and In) were studied by photoelectron spectroscopy to understand the relationship between their electronic structures and magnetic properties. The band structures and Fermi surfaces of UAl$_3$ and UGa$_3$ were revealed experimentally by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES), and they were compared with the result of band-structure calculations. The topologies of the Fermi surfaces and the band structures of UAl$_3$ and UGa$_3$ were explained reasonably well by the calculation, although bands near the Fermi level ($E_\mathrm{F}$) were renormalized owing to the finite electron correlation effect. The topologies of the Fermi surfaces of UAl$_3$ and UGa$_3$ are very similar to each other, except for some minor differences. Such minor differences in their Fermi surface or electron correlation effect might take an essential role in their different magnetic properties. No significant changes were observed between the ARPES spectra of UGa$_3$ in the paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases, suggesting that UGa$_3$ is an itinerant weak antiferromagnet. The effect of chemical pressure on the electronic structures of UX$_3$ compounds was also studied by utilizing the smaller lattice constants of UAl$_3$ and UGa$_3$ than that of UIn$_3$. The valence band spectrum of UIn$_3$ is accompanied by a satellite-like structure on the high-binding-energy side. The core-level spectrum of UIn$_3$ is also qualitatively different from those of UAl$_3$ and UGa$_3$. These findings suggest that the U~$5f$ states in UIn$_3$ are more localized than those in UAl$_3$ and UGa$_3$., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures

The electronic structure of ThRu2Si2 was studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) with incident photon energies of hn=655-745 eV. Detailed band structure and the three-dimensional shapes of Fermi surfaces were derived experimentally, and their characteristic features were mostly explained by means of band structure calculations based on the density functional theory. Comparison of the experimental ARPES spectra of ThRu2Si2 with those of URu2Si2 shows that they have considerably different spectral profiles particularly in the energy range of 1 eV from the Fermi level, suggesting that U 5f states are substantially hybridized in these bands. The relationship between the ARPES spectra of URu2Si2 and ThRu2Si2 is very different from the one between the ARPES spectra of CeRu2Si2 and LaRu2Si2, where the intrinsic difference in their spectra is limited only in the very vicinity of the Fermi energy. The present result suggests that the U 5f electrons in URu2Si2 have strong hybridization with ligand states and have an essentially itinerant character., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. B

Epitaxial CoFe2O4/Al2O3 bilayers are expected to be highly efficient spin injectors into Si owing to the spin filter effect of CoFe2O4. To exploit the full potential of this system, understanding the microscopic origin of magnetically dead layers at the CoFe2O4/Al2O3 interface is necessary. In this paper, we study the crystallographic and electronic structures and the magnetic properties of CoFe2O4(111) layers with various thicknesses (thickness d = 1.4, 2.3, 4, and 11 nm) in the epitaxial CoFe2O4(111)/Al2O3(111)/Si(111) structures using soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) combined with cluster-model calculation. The magnetization of CoFe2O4 measured by XMCD gradually decreases with decreasing thickness d and finally a magnetically dead layer is clearly detected at d = 1.4 nm. The magnetically dead layer has frustration of magnetic interactions which is revealed from comparison between the magnetizations at 300 and 6 K. From analysis using configuration-interaction cluster-model calculation, the decrease of d leads to a decrease in the inverse-to-normal spinel structure ratio and also a decrease in the average valence of Fe at the octahedral sites. These results strongly indicate that the magnetically dead layer at the CoFe2O4/Al2O3 interface originates from various complex networks of superexchange interactions through the change in the crystallographic and electronic structures. Furthermore, from comparison of the magnetic properties between d = 1.4 and 2.3 nm, it is found that ferrimagnetic order of the magnetically dead layer at d = 1.4 nm is restored by the additional growth of the 0.9-nm-thick CoFe2O4 layer on it.

We report a combined study for the electronic structures of ferromagnetic CeAgSb$_2$ using soft X-ray absorption (XAS), magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), and angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) spectroscopies. The Ce $M_{4, 5}$ XAS spectra show very small satellite structures, reflecting a strongly localized character of the Ce $4f$ electrons. The linear dichroism effects in the Ce $M_{4, 5}$ XAS spectra demonstrate the ground state Ce $4f$ symmetry of $\Gamma{_6}$, the spatial distribution of which is directed along the $c$-axis. The XMCD results give support to the picture of local-moment magnetism in CeAgSb$_2$. Moreover it is also found that the theoretical band dispersions for LaAgSb$_2$ provides better description of the ARPES band structures than those for CeAgSb$_2$. Nevertheless, ARPES spectra at the Ce $3d$-$4f$ resonance show the momentum dependence for the intensity ratio between Ce $4f^{1}_{5/2}$ and $4f^{1}_{7/2}$ peaks in a part of the Brillouin zone, suggesting the non-negligible momentum dependent hybridization effect between the Ce $4f$ and the conduction electrons. This is associated with the moderate mass enhancement in CeAgSb$_2$., Comment: to be published in Journal of the Physical Society of Japan

GeMn granular thin films are a unique and promising material for spintronics applications due to large positive magnetoresistance (MR). Previous studies on GeMn have suggested that the large MR is related to nanospinodal decomposition of GeMn into Mn-rich ferromagnetic nanoparticles and Mn-poor paramagnetic matrix. However, its microscopic origin of the MR has not been clarified yet. Here, using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), which is extremely sensitive to the local magnetic state of each atom, we investigate the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles and the matrix in GeMn separately. We find that the MR ratio is proportional to the product of the magnetizations originating from the nanoparticles and the matrix. This result indicates that spin-polarized holes in the nanoparticles penetrate into the matrix and that these holes undergo spin-disorder magnetic scattering by the paramagnetic Mn atoms in the matrix, which induces the large MR.

The electronic structures of the ferromagnetic superconductors $\mathrm{UGe}_2$ and $\mathrm{UCoGe}$ in the paramagnetic phase were studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy using soft X-rays ($h\nu =400-500$). The quasi-particle bands with large contributions from $\mathrm{U}~5f$ states were observed in the vicinity of $E_\mathrm{F}$, suggesting that the $\mathrm{U}~5f$ electrons of these compounds have an itinerant character. Their overall band structures were explained by the band-structure calculations treating all the $\mathrm{U}~5f$ electrons as being itinerant. Meanwhile, the states in the vicinity of $E_\mathrm{F}$ show considerable deviations from the results of band-structure calculations, suggesting that the shapes of Fermi surface of these compounds are qualitatively different from the calculations, possibly caused by electron correlation effect in the complicated band structures of the low-symmetry crystals. Strong hybridization between $\mathrm{U}~5f$ and $\mathrm{Co}~3d$ states in $\mathrm{UCoGe}$ were found by the $\mathrm{Co}~2p-3d$ resonant photoemission experiment, suggesting that $\mathrm{Co}~3d$ states have finite contributions to the magnetic, transport, and superconducting properties., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures