Modeling the thickness dependence of the magnetic phase transition temperature in thin FeRh films

Abstract

FeRh and its first-order phase transition can open new routes for magnetic hybrid materials and devices under the assumption that it can be exploited in ultra-thin-film structures. Motivated by experimental measurements showing an unexpected increase in the phase transition temperature with decreasing thickness of FeRh on top of MgO, we develop a computational model to investigate strain effects of FeRh in such magnetic structures. Our theoretical results show that the presence of the MgO interface results in a strain that changes the magnetic configuration which drives the anomalous behavior.