[ Previous / Next Abstract | Issue Table of Contents | Bottom of Page ]

Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 127203 (2002)

Full Text:  [  PDF (144 kB)   GZipped PS    Order Document  ]

Spin Flop Transition in a Finite Antiferromagnetic Superlattice: Evolution of the Magnetic Structure

S. G. E. te Velthuis, J. S. Jiang, S. D. Bader, and G. P. Felcher

Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439

(Received 7 May 2002; published 3 September 2002)

An antiferromagnetic (AF) superlattice of Fe/Cr(211) is used as a model system to study magnetic transitions in a finite-size geometry. With polarization neutron reflectometry the magnetic structure at the surface spin-flop transition and its evolution with field is determined. A domain wall created near the surface penetrates the superlattice with increasing field, splitting it into two antiphase, AF domains. After reaching the center the spin-flopped phase spreads throughout the superlattice. The experimental results are in substantial agreement with theoretical and numerical predictions. ©2002 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v89/e127203
doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.127203
PACS: 75.70.-i, 61.12.Ha, 75.25.+z, 75.50.Ee        Additional Information

References

1. L. Néel, Ann. Phys. (Paris) 5, 232 (1936).
   
2. For a review, see Y. Shapira and S. Foner, Phys. Rev. B 1, 3083 (1970). [INSPEC]
   
3. D. L. Mills and W. M. Saslow, Phys. Rev. 171, 488 (1968).
   
4. F. Keffer and H. Chow, Phys. Rev. Lett. 31, 1061 (1973). [INSPEC]
   
5. L. Trallori et al., J. Phys. Condens. Matter 7, L451 (1995). [INSPEC]
   
6. E. E. Fullerton et al., Phys. Rev. B 48, 15 755 (1993).
   
7. R. W. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 920 (1994).
   
8. S. Rakhmanova, D. L. Mills, and E. E. Fullerton, Phys. Rev. B 57, 476 (1998).
   
9. N. Papanicolaou, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 10, L131 (1998); [INSPEC]
   11, 59 (1999). [INSPEC]
   
10. L. Trallori, Phys. Rev. B 57, 5923 (1998).
    
11. C. Micheletti, R. B. Griffiths, and J. M. Yeomans, J. Phys. A 30, L233 (1997); [INSPEC]
    Phys. Rev. B 59, 6239 (1999). [INSPEC]
    
12. A. L. Dantas and A. S. Carriço, Phys. Rev. B 59, 1223 (1999).
    
13. G. P. Felcher et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 58, 609 (1987);
    T. Krist, F. Klose, and G. P. Felcher, Physica (Amsterdam) 248B, 372 (1998 (ScienceDirect)). [INSPEC]
    
14. J. F. Ankner and G. P. Felcher, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 200, 741 (1999 (ScienceDirect)). [INSPEC]
    
15. G. P. Felcher and S. G. E. te Velthuis, Appl. Surf. Sci. 182, 209 (2001 (ScienceDirect)). [INSPEC]
    
16. R. W. James, The Optical Principles of the Diffraction of X-Rays (Ox Bow Press, Woodbridge, Connecticut, 1962).
    
17. R. W. E. van de Kruijs et al., Phys. Rev. B 65, 064440 (2002).
    
18. H. Rohrer and H. Thomas, J. Appl. Phys. 40, 1025 (1969). [INSPEC]
    
19. J. M. Kosterlitz, D. R. Nelson, and M. E. Fisher, Phys. Rev. B 13, 412 (1974). [INSPEC]
    
20. V. Lauter-Pasyuk et al. (unpublished).
    

  The American Physical Society is a member of CrossRef.