Depth Magnetization Profile of a Perpendicular Exchange Coupled System by Soft-X-Ray Resonant Magnetic Reflectivity

Jean-Marc Tonnerre (1) , Maurizio de Santis (1) , Stéphane Grenier (2) , Hélio Tolentino (3) , Véronique Langlais (4) , E. Bontempi (5) , M. García-Fernández (6) , U. Staub (6)

1 NEEL - SIN - Surfaces, Interfaces et Nanostructures
2 NEEL - MRS - Matériaux, Rayonnements, Structure
3 NEEL - CRG - CRG & Grands instruments
4 UAB - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
5 UniBs - Università degli Studi di Brescia = University of Brescia
6 SLS-PSI - The Swiss Light Source (SLS)

The magnetic profile across the interface of a perpendicular exchange coupled [NiO/CoO]3/Pt-Co/ Pt(111) system is investigated. The magneto-optic Kerr effect reveals a strong coupling between the antiferromagnetic (AFM) oxide and the ferromagnetic (FM) Pt-Co layer, by an increasing coercivity and a rotation of the easy magnetization axis of the FM layer along the AFM spins. Soft x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity is used to probe the spatial distribution of the out-of-plane magnetization inside the oxide above its ordering temperature. It extends over 1 nm and exhibits a change of sign.

Mots clés: exchange coupling; x-ray resonant magnetic scattering; reflectivity; perpendicular magnetization

Domaines: Electrons fortement corrélés [cond-mat.str-el]

Jean-Marc Tonnerre, Maurizio de Santis, Stéphane Grenier, Hélio Tolentino, Véronique Langlais, et al.. Depth Magnetization Profile of a Perpendicular Exchange Coupled System by Soft-X-Ray Resonant Magnetic Reflectivity. Physical Review Letters, 2008, 100 (15), pp.157202. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.157202⟩. ⟨hal-00279692⟩