Strain-induced Magnetic Anisotropy Research Articles

Strain-induced giant enhancement and transformation of magnetocrystalline anisotropy in 1T-FeSe2 monolayer

The development of magnetic materials with large magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) is crucial for magnetic storage and spintronics applications. The electronic structure and magnetic properties of 1T-FeSe2 monolayer have been systematically investigated by first-principles computational methods. The monolayer 1T-FeSe2 is confirmed to be a ferromagnetic semimetal with 100% spin polarization and exhibits pronounced magnetic anisotropy. It shows an easy magnetization plane in the two-dimensional plane and its MAE is as high as 8.134 meV. The MAE mainly originates from the contributions of transitions between Fe dyz and dz2, dxy and dx2−y2 orbitals, while the contributions of transitions between p x and p y, p x and p z orbitals of Se are also obvious. The biaxial strain significantly regulates the magnetic properties and electronic structures of the 1T-FeSe2 monolayer. Interestingly, the MAE increases significantly to 77.680 meV when the tensile strain increases to 3.5%, we can expect to achieve a reasonable value of MAE up to 98.951 meV by applying 5% tensile strain. In addition, the easy magnetization plane changes to perpendicular easy magnetization axis direction at −6% compressive strain or 7% tensile strain, which leads to a significant change in the band structure near the Fermi level. The 100% spin-polarized ferromagnetic semi-metallic behavior and the huge strain-induced magnetic anisotropy make the 1T-FeSe2 monolayer material promising for spintronics and magnetic data storage.

Continuous strain-mediated perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial (111) CoFe2O4 thin films grown on LiTaO3 substrates

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in magnetic thin films has attracted much attention due to its potential applications in spintronics devices. Here, we report the continuous strain-mediated PMA in epitaxial (111) CoFe2O4 (CFO) thin films grown on (0001) LiTaO3 substrates. A large variation in lattice strain (∼0.9%) in a continuous way is realized in the CFO thin films by changing substrate temperature during deposition due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between CFO and LiTaO3. As a result, the PMA of the (111) CFO thin films can be continuously mediated by the strain with uniaxial magnetic anisotropy energy in the range of 0.12-14.69×106 erg/cm3. Furthermore, the strain as well as the consequent PMA in the (111) CFO thin films can be maintained within the thickness of 25–205 nm, which is consistent with the scenario of the magnetoelastic effect. Our results reveal that the CFO/LiTaO3 system can be regarded as an ideal platform to realize robust PMA and its continuous strain tuning in the (111) CFO thin films by virtue of strain-induced magnetic anisotropy.

Strain-induced magnetic anisotropy of multi-domain epitaxial EuPd2 thin films

Europium intermetallic compounds show a variety of different ground states and anomalous physical properties due to the interactions between the localized 4f electrons and the delocalized electronic states. Europium is also the most reactive of the rare earth metals which might be the reason why very few works are concerned with the properties of Eu-based thin films. Here we address the low-temperature magnetic properties of ferromagnetic EuPd2 thin films prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. The epitaxial (111)-oriented thin films grow on MgO (100) with eight different domain orientations. We analyze the low-temperature magnetic hysteresis behavior by means of micromagnetic simulations taking the multi-domain morphology explicitly into account and quantify the magnetic crystal anisotropy contribution. By ab initio calculations we trace back the microscopic origin of the magnetic anisotropy to thin film-induced uniform biaxial strain.

Ultra-highly efficient SOT-writing in MTJs with strain-induced magnetic anisotropy

In order to break through limits of conventional MRAMs, MTJs with strain-induced magnetic anisotropy were intensively tested as SOT-MRAM cells. Small critical switching-current of 10–25 μA and switching-voltage of about 0.055 V, and almost no retention energy dependence of them were predicted and confirmed by experiments. Finally, high write efficiency of 1750 kBT/V (4.1 kBT/μA) and high write-power efficiency of 100 [kBT/(μA·V)] were obtained.

Excellent temperature dependence of retention energy and large tunnel magnetoresistance of MTJs with strain-induced magnetic anisotropy for SOT-MRAMs with high write efficiency

Excellent temperature dependence of retention energy and large tunnel magnetoresistance of MTJs with strain-induced magnetic anisotropy for SOT-MRAMs with high write efficiency

Strain-induced magnetic anisotropy in Heusler alloys studied from first principles

We report the microscopic origin of strain-mediated changes in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of the Co2FeSi, Co2MnSi, and Fe3Si Heusler alloys from the viewpoint of first-principles electron theory. Both Co2FeSi and Co2MnSi have similar anisotropy changes upon induced strain within the (001) plane, where the quadrupole moment due to Co minority-spin states dominates the anisotropy modulation, and, thus, giant magnetoelectric couplings in multiferroic heterointerfaces containing these compounds. In contrast, the strain-induced anisotropy modulation in Fe3Si has mixed contributing factors not limited to the anisotropy term of the orbital magnetic moment and the quadrupole term.

A strain-controlled magnetostrictive pseudo spin valve

Electric-field control of magnetism via an inverse magnetostrictive effect is an alternative path toward improving energy-efficient storage and sensing devices based on a giant magnetoresistance effect. In this Letter, we report on lateral electric-field driven strain-mediated modulation of magnetotransport properties in a Co/Cu/Py pseudo spin valve grown on a ferroelectric 0.7Pb[Mg1/3Nb2/3)]O3–0.3PbTiO3 substrate. We show a decrease in the giant magnetoresistance ratio of the pseudo spin valve with the increase in the electric field, which is attributed to the deviation of the Co layer magnetization from the initial direction due to strain-induced magnetoelastic anisotropy contribution. Additionally, we demonstrate that strain-induced magnetic anisotropy effectively shifts the switching field of the magnetostrictive Co layer, while keeping the switching field of the nearly zero-magnetostrictive Py layer unaffected due to its negligible magnetostriction. We argue that magnetostrictively optimized magnetic films in properly engineered multilayered structures can offer a path to enhancing the selective magnetic switching in spintronic devices.

Strain Control of Magnetic Anisotropy in Yttrium Iron Garnet Films in a Composite Structure with Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Substrate

This report is on the nature of strain in thin films of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) on yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) substrates due to film-substrate lattice mismatch and the resulting induced magnetic anisotropy. Films with thickness 55 nm to 380 nm were deposited on (100), (110), and (111) YAG substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) techniques and characterized by structural and magnetic characterization techniques. The in-plane strain determined to be compressive using X-ray diffraction (XRD). It varied from −0.12% to −0.98% and increased in magnitude with increasing film thickness and was relatively large in films on (100) YAG. The out-of-plane strain was tensile and also increased with increasing film thickness. The estimated strain-induced magnetic anisotropy field, found from XRD data, was out of plane; its value increased with film thickness and ranged from 0.47 kOe to 3.96 kOe. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements at 5 to 21 GHz also revealed the presence of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy that decreased with increasing film thickness and its values were smaller than values obtained from XRD data. The PLD YIG films on YAG substrates exhibiting a perpendicular anisotropy field have the potential for use in self-biased sensors and high-frequency devices.

Strain-induced magnetic anisotropy of REIG thin films grown on YAG(111) substrates by pulsed laser deposition

Several studies have revealed using rare earth (RE) elements instead of yttrium to regulate the strain-induced magnetic anisotropy of garnet films in recent years. In this study, we used pulsed laser deposition to fabricate RE iron garnet (REIG) thin films on (111)-oriented yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) substrates. The REIG films are 100 nm in thickness and crystalline with (111)-orientation. The out-of-plane (444)-plane spacing decreases as the ionic radius of RE metal ions decreases, while the crystallite size increases. Samarium, holmium, and yttrium iron garnet (SmIG, HoIG, and YIG) have out-of-plane compressive strain, while erbium and thulium iron garnet (ErIG and TmIG) have weak out-of-plane tensile strain. The strain of the REIG films is resulted from lattice mismatch, off-stoichiometry, and the recrystallization process by thermal annealing. SmIG has a rather rough surface because of the crystalline distortion due to the largest ionic radius of Sm and the lattice mismatch between SmIG and YAG substrates. Due to negative magnetostriction constant and out-of-plane compressive strain, SmIG and HoIG films show strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in vibrating sample magnetometry and magneto-optical Faraday effect (MOFE). MOFE also revealed that the REIG films have different sensitivities at different wavelengths of light. With further tuning PMA on SmIG and HoIG by decreasing the thickness and lateral size, our findings could pave the way for high-density nano-scale magnetic information storage based on REIG thin films.

Single-crystal epitaxial europium iron garnet films with strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy: Structural, strain, magnetic, and spin transport properties

Single-crystal europium iron garnet (EuIG) thin films epitaxially strain-grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG)(100) substrates using off-axis sputtering have strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). By varying the sputtering conditions, we have tuned the europium/iron (Eu/Fe) composition ratios in the films to tailor the film strains. The films exhibited an extremely smooth, particle-free surface with roughness as low as 0.1 nm as observed using atomic force microscopy. High-resolution x-ray diffraction analysis and reciprocal space maps showed in-plane epitaxial film growth, very smooth film/substrate interface, excellent film crystallinity with a small full width at half maximum of 0.012$^{\circ}$ in the rocking curve scans, and an in-plane compressive strain without relaxation. In addition, spherical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy showed an atomically abrupt interface between the EuIG film and GGG. The measured squarish out-of-plane magnetization-field hysteresis loops by vibrating sample magnetometry in conjunction with the measurements from angle-dependent x-ray magnetic dichroism demonstrated the PMA in the films. We have tailored the magnetic properties of the EuIG thin films, including saturation magnetization ranging from 71.91 to 124.51 emu/c.c. (increase with the (Eu/Fe) ratios), coercive field from 27 to 157.64 Oe, and the strength of PMA field ($H_\bot$) increasing from 4.21 to 18.87 kOe with the in-plane compressive strain from -0.774 to -1.044%. We have also investigated spin transport in Pt/EuIG bi-layer structure and evaluated the real part of spin mixing conductance to be $3.48\times10^{14} {\Omega}^{-1}m^{-2}$. We demonstrated the current-induced magnetization switching with a low critical switching current density of $3.5\times10^6 A/cm^2$, showing excellent potential for low-dissipation spintronic devices.

Magnetoelastic constant of thin films determined by a four-point bending apparatus

We have developed a method to variably induce lattice strains and to quantitatively evaluate the induced magnetic anisotropy. Both tensile and compressive strains were introduced into epitaxial films of cobalt ferrite (CFO) grown on a single crystal MgO(001) substrate using a four-point bending apparatus made of a plastic material fabricated by a 3D printer. The change in magnetic anisotropy due to bending strain can be measured quantitatively by using the conventional magneto-torque meter. The strain-induced magnetic anisotropy increased with the tensile strain and decreased with the compressive strain as expected from a phenomenological magnetoelastic theory. The magnetoelastic constant obtained from the changes in bending strains shows quantitatively good agreement with that of the CFO films with a uniaxial epitaxial strain. This signifies that the magnetoelastic constant can be evaluated by measuring only one film sample with strains applied by using the bending apparatus.

Theoretical scheme of nonvolatile strain-switchable high/low resistance based on novel strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy in the Mn2.25Co0.75Ga0.5Sn0.5/MgO superlattice

Strain-induced magnetic anisotropy reversal and 100% spin polarization are realized in the MCGS/MgO system, which can be used in magnetic tunnel junctions where the high/low resistance is rotated solely by the voltage-generated strain.

Strain-Induced Magnetic Anisotropy of Reig Thin Films Grown on Yag(111) Substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Strain-Induced Magnetic Anisotropy of Reig Thin Films Grown on Yag(111) Substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Electric-Field Control of Propagating Spin Waves by Ferroelectric Domain-Wall Motion in a Multiferroic Heterostructure.

Magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroic heterostructures offers a promising platform for electric-field control of magnonic devices based on low-power spin-wave transport. Here, electric-field manipulation of the amplitude and phase of propagating spin waves in a ferromagnetic Fe film on top of a ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrate is demonstrated experimentally. Electric-field effects in this composite material system are mediated by strain coupling between alternating ferroelectric stripe domains with in-plane and perpendicular polarization and fully correlated magnetic anisotropy domains with differing spin-wave transport properties. The propagation of spin waves across the strain-induced magnetic anisotropy domains of the Fe film is directly imaged and it is shown how reversible electric-field-driven motion of ferroelectric domain walls and pinned anisotropy boundaries turns the spin-wave signal on and off. Furthermore, linear electric-field tuning of the spin-wave phase by altering the width of strain-coupled stripe domains is demonstrated. The results provide a new route toward energy-efficient reconfigurablemagnonics.

Temperature assistance of electric field-controlled spin-orbit torque-based magnetization switching in PMN-PT/FePt heterostructures.

We report the temperature assistance of electric field (E-field)-controlled spin–orbit torque (SOT)-based magnetization switching of L10-FePt films grown on a PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3–PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) (011) substrate, which generates considerable strain via piezoelectric effects of the PMN–PT substrate under E-field. Owing to large strain-induced effective field and weak perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) at a high temperature, E-field controls the PMA- and SOT-based magnetization switching more effectively. Driven by E-field, magnetization switching is detected by a magnetic optical Kerr (MOKE) microscope under a fixed perpendicular magnetic field. Furthermore, E-field modulates change of anomalous Hall resistance regularly, which enables us to achieve the bidirectional transmission of data by designing an E-field controlled SOT-based logical circuit. This study indicates an efficient way to fabricate potential E-field-controlled spintronic applications at high temperatures.

Strain-induced robust magnetic anisotropy and room temperature magnetoelectric coupling effect in epitaxial SmFeO3 film

Rare-earth orthoferrite SmFeO3 is an outstanding single-phase multiferroic material, holding great potential in novel low-power electronic devices. Nevertheless, simultaneous magnetic and ferroelectric orders as well as magnetoelectric (ME) coupling effect at room temperature (RT) in this system have not been demonstrated yet. In this study, epitaxial SmFeO3 films were successfully prepared onto tensile-strain Nb-SrTiO3 (Nb-STO) substrates by a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Measurement results show that the films exhibit obvious ferromagnetic and ferroelectric orders at RT. Meanwhile, the magnetic anisotropy gradually changes from out-of-plane (OP) to in-plane (IP) direction with increasing film thickness, which is attributed to the variations of O 2p-Fe 3d hybridization intensity and Fe 3d-orbit occupancy caused by the strain-relaxed effect. Moreover, electrically driven reversible magnetic switching further proves that the SmFeO3 films exhibit the RT ME coupling effect, suggesting promising applications in new-generation electric-write magnetic-read data storage devices.

Strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and Gilbert damping of Tm3Fe5O12 thin films

In the attempt of implementing iron garnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in spintronics, the attention turned towards strain-grown iron garnets. One candidate is Tm3Fe5O12 (TmIG) which possesses an out-of-plane magnetic easy axis when grown under tensile strain. In this study, the effect of film thickness on the structural and magnetic properties of TmIG films including magnetic anisotropy, saturation magnetization, and Gilbert damping is investigated. TmIG films with thicknesses between 20 and 300 nm are epitaxially grown by pulsed laser deposition on substituted-Gd3Ga5O12(111) substrates. Structural characterization shows that films thinner than 200 nm show in-plane tensile strain, thus exhibiting PMA due to strain-induced magnetoelastic anisotropy. However, with increasing film thickness a relaxation of the unit cell is observed resulting in the rotation of the magnetic easy axis towards the sample plane due to the dominant shape anisotropy. Furthermore, the Gilbert damping parameter is found to be in the range of 0.02 ± 0.005.

Magnetic properties of a Y3Fe5O12/(TmBi)3(FeGa)5O12 heterostructure related to strain-induced magnetic anisotropy

We studied the static and dynamic magnetic properties of a Y3Fe5O12/Tm2.28Bi0.72Fe4.3Ga0.7O12(TBIG) heterostructure. TBIG nanostructured films were sputtered on 300 nm liquid phase epitaxy Y3Fe5O12 films at 400 °C and post-annealing in air at 800 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns provide evidence of strain-induced lattice mismatch between the Y3Fe5O12 and the TBIG films. Strain-induced anisotropy produces multipeak ferromagnetic resonance spectra from the Y3Fe5O12 film, and these resonance modes behave differently. Fitting of f-Hr data to the Kittel equation yields the anisotropy fields of each resonance mode, indicating the existence of an out-of-plane anisotropic field which is up to 220.9 Oe. We also observe comb-like spin wave spectra causing by the interaction of elastic waves and spin waves in the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization with peak separation Δf ≈ 3.24 MHz.

Strain-induced magnetic anisotropy via the Jahn-Teller effect and the magnetoelastic coupling of tetragonally distorted (Cu,Co)Fe2O4 particles

Abstract We investigated on the strain-induced magnetic anisotropy via the Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion of Cu2+ ions and the magnetoelastic coupling of Co2+ ions in Cu1−xCoxFe2O4 particles. The ideal composition for the tetragonalization of (Cu,Co)Fe2O4 is confirmed for x in the range of 0

Reversible electric-field-driven magnetization in a columnar nanocomposite film

Self-assembled heteroepitaxial bismuth ferrite - cobalt ferrite (BFO-CFO) nanocomposite films were grown on (001) oriented piezoelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.72Ti0.28O3(001) (PMN-PT0.28) substrates by pulsed laser deposition in which BFO and CFO targets were alternately ablated. Completely reversible electric field induced biaxial strain in this substrate has been exploited to produce reversible electric field control of magnetization in the BFO-CFO nanocomposite film. The surface of the CFO-BFO films shows rectangular CFO pillars protruding out of a flat BFO matrix. The pillars are aligned with their edges along the pseudocubic {110} directions and are homogeneously distributed in the matrix. X-ray diffraction revealed an out-of-plane compression of the CFO unit cell by ~ 0.4%. Magnetization hysteresis (M-H) loops show a moderate perpendicular anisotropy of the magnetostrictive CFO pillars, which is related to their vertical compression. The application of an electric field to the electromechanical PMN-PT0.28 substrate produced significant and reversible changes in the magnetization due to an additional strain-induced magnetic anisotropy. This demonstrates completely reversible, room-temperature electric-field-assisted control of magnetization in self-assembled vertical nanocomposites of CFO and BFO.