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arXiv · 1911.05322

Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Conducting NiCo2O4 Films from Spin-Lattice Coupling

Corbyn Mellinger·Jace Waybright·Xiaozhe Zhang·Caleb Schmidt·Xiaoshan Xu
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Abstract

High perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), a property needed for nanoscale spintronic applications, is rare in oxide conductors. We report the observation of a PMA up to 0.23 MJ/m3 in modestly strained epitaxial NiCo2O4 (NCO) films which are room-temperature ferrimagnetic conductors. Spin-lattice coupling manifested as magnetoelastic effect was found as the origin of the PMA. The in-plane xx-yy states of Co on tetrahedral sites play crucial role in the magnetic anisotropy and spin-lattice coupling with an energy scale of 1 meV/f.u. The elucidation of the microscopic origin paves a way for engineering oxide conductors for PMA using metal/oxygen hybridizations.

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Corbyn Mellinger, Jace Waybright, Xiaozhe Zhang, Caleb Schmidt, Xiaoshan Xu. 2019-11-13. Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Conducting NiCo2O4 Films from Spin-Lattice Coupling. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.101.014413

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