No abstract

Magnetic behavior of CoFeB at various thicknesses ranging from 2 nm to 8 nm capped with different materials, such as MgO, Ta, Ru, and V have been studied. The films were sputter-deposited and subsequently characterized by magnetometry and broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). There are magnetically dead layers at the interface observed with Ru and Ta capping layers, while MgO and V have almost no effect on the magnetization of the CoFeB. As the ferromagnetic layer is made thinner, the effective magnetization decreases, indicating an interfacial perpendicular anisotropy. Particularly in the case of MgO, V/Ru, and V/Ta capping layers, interfacial perpendicular anisotropy is induced in CoFeB, and the Gilbert damping parameter is also reduced. The origin of this perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is understood to be caused by the interface anisotropy between the free layer and the capping layer. The effect of post-deposition annealing and CoFeB thickness on the anisotropy and damping of V/Ta capped samples are reported. Doping CoFeB with vanadium (V) greatly reduced the 4πMs and 4πMeff values, resulting in an effective increase in the PMA.

Strongly textured NiFe(111) underlayers, deposited by dc magnetron sputtering with applied substrate bias, are utilized to grow large, epitaxial grains of FeMn(111). These perfectly oriented (111) NiFe/FeMn bilayers exhibit the highest interfacial exchange anisotropy energy (0.17 erg/cm2), lowest coercivity (∼2 Oe) of the pinned layer, and highest blocking temperature (205 °C) ever reported, to the best of our knowledge. The relationship between the blocking temperature and the x-ray diffraction intensity of FeMn(111) indicates that the exchange interaction across the NiFe and FeMn interface is enhanced by the well-oriented, large, defect-free FeMn(111) crystals.

No abstract

No abstract