Abstract
Two different Fe/MnF2 samples have been prepared by e-beam evaporation on MgO(001) substrates. The Fe layer in the samples includes a 10 Å thick 57Fe probe layer either at the Fe/MnF2 interface (interface sample) or 35 Å away from the interface (center sample). The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) and SQUID magnetometry. 57Fe CEMS has been employed to study the depth dependent hyperfine interactions in Fe/MnF2 as a function of temperature between 18 K to 300 K. The hyperfine field B hf has been obtained for the interfacial and off-interfacial 57Fe layers. At the interface, besides B hf of bcc-Fe, the presence of a component with a distribution P(B hf ) is observed. The latter is assigned to interfacial 57Fe atoms, indicating some (∼15%, equivalent to ∼1 Fe atomic layer) intermixing at the Fe/MnF2 interface and a decrease of the average <B hf > by 21%. The influence of the interface disappears as the 57Fe probe layer is placed away from the interface. The temperature dependence of the average <B hf > of the interface has been measured. The Fe spins, at remanence, are found to lie in the film plane.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Nogués, J., Schuller, I.K.: J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 192, 203 (1999)
Berkowitz, A.E., Tanako, K.: J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 200, 552 (1999)
Kiwi, M.: J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 234, 584 (2001)
Lund, M.S., Macedo, W.A.A., Liu, K., Nogués, J., Schuller, I.K., Leighton, C.: Phys. Rev., B. 66, 054422 (2002)
Leighton, C., Nogués, J., Jönsson-Åkerman, B.J., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3466 (2000)
Fitzsimmons, M.R., Leighton, C., Hoffmann, A., Yashar, P.C., Nogués, J., Liu, K., Majkrzak, C.F., Dura, J.A., Fritzsche, H., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev., B. 64, 104415 (2001)
Macedo, W.A.A., Sahoo, B., Kuncser, V., Eisenmenger, J., Felner, I., Nogués, J., Lui, K., Keune, W., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev., B. 70, 224414 (2004)
Leighton, C., Nogués, J., Suhl, H., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev., B. 60, 12837 (1999)
Leighton, C., Fitzsimmons, M.R., Hoffmann, A., Dura, J., Majkrzak, C.F., Lund, M.S., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev., B. 65, 064403 (2002)
Krivorotov, I.N., Leighton, C., Nogués, J., Schuller, I.K., Dahlberg, E.D.: Phys. Rev., B. 65, 100402 (2002)
Krivorotov, I.N., Leighton, C., Nogués, J., Schuller, I.K., Dahlberg, E.D.: Phys. Rev., B. 68, 054430 (2002)
Fitzsimmons, M.R., Yashar, P., Leighton, C., Schuller, I.K., Nogués, J., Majkrzak, C.F., Dura, J.A.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3986 (2000)
Pechan, M.J., Bennett, D., Teng, N., Leighton, C., Nogués, J., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev., B. 65, 064410 (2002)
Leighton, C., Fitzsimmons, M.R., Yashar, P., Hoffmann, A., Nogués, J., Dura, J., Majkrzak, C.F., Schuller, I.K.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4394 (2001)
Kiwi, M., Mejía-López, J., Portugal, R.D., Ramírez, R.: Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 3995 (1999)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sahoo, B., Macedo, W.A.A., Keune, W. et al. Mössbauer spectroscopical investigation of the exchange biased Fe/MnF2 interface. Hyperfine Interact 169, 1371–1377 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10751-006-9453-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10751-006-9453-8