Charles Explorer logo
🇬🇧

Control of antiferromagnetic spin axis orientation in bilayer Fe/CuMnAs films

Publication at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
2017

Abstract

Using x-ray magnetic circular and linear dichroism techniques, we demonstrate a collinear exchange coupling between an epitaxial antiferromagnet, tetragonal CuMnAs, and an Fe surface layer. A small uncompensated Mn magnetic moment is observed which is antiparallel to the Fe magnetization.

The staggered magnetization of the 5 nm thick CuMnAs layer is rotatable under small magnetic fields, due to the interlayer exchange coupling. This allows us to obtain the x-ray magnetic linear dichroism spectra for different crystalline orientations of CuMnAs in the (001) plane.

This is a key parameter for enabling the understanding of domain structures in CuMnAs imaged using x-ray magnetic linear dichroism microscopy techniques.