Growth and properties of hybrid thin film systems – Effects of magnetic anisotropy on the dynamical properties of epitaxial thin films

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Team

• Permanent members: Dominique Demaille, Jean-Eudes. Duvauchelle, Mahmoud Eddrief, Massimiliano Marangolo, Mauricio Sacchi, Franck Vidal, Yunlin Zheng
• Recent thesis : Mariana Barturen,  Carolyna Hepburn, Louis-Charles. Garnier

Magnetic anisotropy manifests itself in preferential orientations of the magnetization. Its origin may be due to the shape of the sample or to the coupling of electronic states with the rest of the crystal. In addition, a static or dynamic deformation of the crystal structure can significantly modify it: this is called magnetoelastic coupling. Our research is interested in the effects induced by magnetic anisotropy on the dynamic properties of epitaxial thin films.

The anisotropy can be modified by inserting atoms (e.g. N and Ga) into a ferromagnetic matrix (e.g. Fe) or by applying a deformation (typically an ultrasonic wave). The effects on the precessional modes of magnetization and in particular on the spectra of magnons (spin waves) can be spectacular and open perspectives for spintronics and magnonics.

(a) MFM image of a thin film of an Fe-N alloy epitaxied on GaAs (001). The insertion of nitrogen into iron matrix drastically modifies the magnetic anisotropy and induces the creation of magnetic ribbons with a period of the order of 100 nm. (b) Side view of ribbon domains from MuMax3 simulations. We can distinguish regions with perpendicular magnetization (e), closure domains (g) and regions with magnetization in the plane (f, parallel to the ribbons).

 

Highlight

Measuring magnetic excitations in a magnonic crystal

Principal collaborations

• CNEA Bariloche (Argentine),
• Université de Pérouse
• CNR de Florence (Italie)

Recent publications

• J.-Y. Duquesne, P. Rovillain, C. Hepburn, M. Eddrief, P. Atkinson, A. Anane, R. Ranchal, M. Marangolo, Surface-Acoustic-Wave Induced Ferromagnetic Resonance in Fe Thin Films and Magnetic Field Sensing, Phys. Rev. Applied 12, 024042 (2019).https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02271517
• S. Fin, R. Silvani, S. Tacchi, M. Marangolo, L.-C. Garnier, M. Eddrief, C. Hepburn, F. Fortuna, A. Rettori, M. G. Pini & D. Bisero, Straight motion of half-integer topological defects in thin Fe-N magnetic films with stripe domains, Sci Rep 8, 9339 (2018).https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01819712
• S. Camara, S. Tacchi, L-C. Garnier, M. Eddrief, F. Fortuna, G. Carlotti and M. Marangolo, Magnetization dynamics of weak stripe domains in Fe–N thin films: a multi-technique complementary approach. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 29, 465803 (2017).https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01632838