ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
Fe3O4/NiO multilayers exhibit long-range antiferromagnetic order with the magnetite ferrimagnetic correlations confined to a single layer due to stacking faults of the spinel structure at the interfaces. We are studying the field dependence of the interlayer coupling and magnetic structure in a series of Fe3O4/NiO multilayers using neutron diffraction. Both NiO and Fe3O4 thin films were included in the measurements for comparison. In a single thick Fe3O4 film, intensity changes with magnetic field are consistent with the alignment of the net ferrimagnetic moment parallel to the applied field. In a single thick NiO film, we observe no intensity changes with magnetic field. For multilayers where the ratio of NiO to Fe3O4 is far from unity, the field dependence approximates that of the thick film of the majority constituent. However, for a Fe3O4 (68 A(ring))/NiO (34 A(ring)) multilayer the NiO antiferromagnetic intensity decreases with increasing field, applied parallel to a [110] axis in the film plane. This indicates a domain repopulation in the NiO, concomitant with the magnetization of the magnetite, where the antiferromagnetic modulation direction prefers the [111] axes that are closest to the applied field direction. A broadening of the NiO peak shows that the repopulated domains are smaller. We are pursuing a complete measurement of the domain populations by measuring a series of NiO antiferromagnetic diffraction peaks. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.361314
