Morphology and the magnetic and conducting properties of heterogeneous layered magnetic structures [(Co45Fe45Zr10)35(Al2O3)65/a-Si:H]36

Abstract

The morphology and the magnetic and conducting properties of an amorphous multilayer nanosystem [(Co45Fe45Zr10)35(Al2O3)65/a-Si:H]36 consisting of (Co45Fe45Zr10)35(Al2O3)65 magnetic layers and semiconducting hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layers of various thicknesses have been studied. Using a combination of methods (including polarized neutron reflectometry and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering), it is shown that the magnetic and electrical properties of these multilayer structures are determined by their morphology. It is established that the magnetization and electric resistance of a sample is a nonmonotonic function of the a-Si:H layer thickness. Both characteristics are at a minimum for a structure with a semiconductor layer thickness of 0.4 nm. Samples with silicon layer thicknesses below 0.4 nm represent a three-dimensional structure of Co45Fe45Zr10 grains weakly ordered in space, while in samples with silicon layer thicknesses above 0.4 nm, these grains are packed in layers alternating in the vertical direction. The average lateral distance between nanoparticles in the layer plane has been determined, from which the dimensions of metal grains in each sample have been estimated.