Thermal switching of the magnetization in an iron film on a magnetically active template MnAs/GaAs(001)

The magnetization direction of a thin Fe film can be fully reversed in a thermal cycle of a few degrees close to room temperature, without making use of an external magnetic field. Phys. Rev. B 81, 220401 (2010)
We show that the magnetization direction of a thin Fe film can be fully reversed in a thermal cycle of a few degrees close to room temperature, without making use of an external magnetic field. This result is obtained by depositing the Fe film on MnAs/GaAs(001), which displays a temperature-controlled self-organized pattern of submicron-wide stripes, alternating ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic phases. The temperature-dependent dipolar fields generated by this magnetically active template can be used to control the magnetization of the Fe overlayer.

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Thermal switching of the magnetization in an iron film on a magnetically active template MnAs/GaAs(001)
M. Sacchi, M. Marangolo, C. Spezzani, R. Breitwieser, H. Popescu, R. Dealaunay, B. R. Salles, M. Eddrief, V. H. Etgens;
Phys. Rev. B 81, 220401 (2010).
Last Updated on Monday, 25 June 2012 15:34