Modification of interface magnetic anisotropy by ion irradiation on epitaxial Cu/Ni/Cu(002)/ Si(100) films

Abstract

Various x-ray scattering and magnetic measurements were employed to reveal changes in intrinsic structural and magnetic properties on epitaxial Cu/Ni(t)/Cu(002)/Si(100) thin films (tϭ20, 30, 60, and 90 Å) before and after 1 MeV C ϩ ion irradiation. Torque magnetometer and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements were carried out to understand relation between magnetic and structural properties, respectively. X-ray reflectivity measurements were performed to characterize interface roughness and intermixing. It is observed that effective magnetic anisotropy values of ion-irradiated films are negative over the entire nickel thickness range and the dominant factor of the reorientation of magnetic easy axis from surface normal to surface parallel is reduction of the interface magnetic anisotropy coefficient in spite of decreased interface mixing after ion irradiation.

Magnetic patterning by means of ion irradiation and implantation

“…Only a few investigations are reported for other systems with interfacial anisotropies like Ni/Cu [93,94]. A modification of the magnetic texturing and thereby of the magnetic anisotropy by means of ion irradiation is investigated using high energy heavy ion irradiation [95][96][97].…”

MOKE Magnetometer Studies of Evaporated Ni and Ni/Cu Thin Films onto Different Substrates

“…Several works have been reported on Ni films [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] and on the Ni/Cu/substrates bilayers [13,14]. Among the effect of Ni thickness on the physical properties, one may cite (i) the transition from an out-of plane to an in-plane magnetization easy axis, (ii) the effect of the lattice strain on the magnetic moment reduction and (iii) the change from a fine grain structure to a column structure [15][16][17][18].…”

Kinetic Monte Carlo Study of Submonolayer Heteroepitaxial Growth Comparing Cu/Ni and Pt/Ni on Ni(100)

“…In this paper, we are examining the epitaxial growth of two complementary bimetallic systems: Cu/Ni and Pt/Ni. The Cu/Ni thin film interface has seen a great deal of theoretical and experimental investigation due to its importance as circuit interconnects for magnetic devices − and for sensor systems − such as the specific variations in catalytic pathways for some organic reactions due to thin Pt overlayers on Ni. , We also view the Cu/Ni and Pt/Ni systems as complementary because, within our theoretical treatment, the interaction energies complement each other in ways that allow the two systems to serve as a model of the differing relative roles for the kinetic and thermodynamic effects in epitaxial growth, itself a topic of interest. ,, …”