Effect of lithographically-induced strain relaxation on the magnetic domain configuration in microfabricated epitaxially grown Fe81Ga19

DOI: 10.1038/srep42107

Authors: R. P. Beardsley (University of Nottingham) , D. E. Parkes (University of Nottingham) , J. Zemen (Imperial College) , S. Bowe (University of Nottingham) , K. W. Edmonds (University of Nottingham) , C. Reardon (University of York) , F. Maccherozzi (Diamond Light Source) , I. Isakov (Imperial College; University College London) , P. A. Warburton (University College London) , R. P. Campion (University of Nottingham) , B. L. Gallagher (University of Nottingham) , S. A. Cavill (University of York, Diamond Light Source) , A. W. Rushforth (University of Nottingham)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Scientific Reports , VOL 7

State: Published (Approved)
Published: February 2017
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 8560 , 7601

Abstract: We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy Fe81Ga19. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropies to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure. This highly-strained edge region has a significant influence on the magnetic domain configuration due to an induced magnetic anisotropy resulting from the inverse magnetostriction effect. We investigate the competition between the strain-induced and shape-induced anisotropy energies, and the resultant stable domain configurations, as the width of the bar is reduced to the nanoscale range. Understanding this behaviour will be important when designing hybrid magneto-electric spintronic devices based on highly magnetostrictive materials.

Journal Keywords: Magnetic devices; Magnetic properties and materials

Diamond Keywords: Spintronics

Subject Areas: Materials, Physics


Instruments: I06-Nanoscience (XPEEM)

Added On: 13/02/2017 11:30

Documents:
srep42107.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Physics Electronics Magnetism Materials Science interfaces and thin films

Technical Tags:

Microscopy Electron Microscopy (EM) PhotoEmmission Electron Microscopy (PEEM)