Iron self-diffusion in B2-FeRh thin film

Abstract

Iron-rhodium thin films are in the center of scientific interest due to their great potential in spintronic, energy harvesting and other forthcoming applications. The structural stability of these materials in industrial applications relies heavily on their ability to withstand temperature variations, therefore it is crucial to gain a thorough understanding of the diffusion processes induced by temperature. To investigate the self-diffusion of iron in FeRh, an isotope-periodic multilayer structure of [nFe50.5Rh49.5(63 Å)/57Fe51.5Rh48.5(46 Å)]10 was prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. By using neutron reflectivity technique, which is capable of detecting atomic-scale diffusion lengths, we determined the pre-exponent factor and activation energy as D0 = (1.19 ± 0.5) × 10−16 m2s−1 and Ea = (1.00 ± 0.03) eV respectively.