arXiv subjects

Zhendong Chi

Publications and source records attributed to Zhendong Chi.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Magnetization process of the insulating ferromagnetic semiconductor (Al,Fe)Sb

We have studied the magnetization process of the new insulating ferromagnetic semiconductor (Al,Fe)Sb by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. For an optimally doped sample with 10% Fe, a magnetization was found to rapidly increase at low magnetic fields and to saturate at high magnetic fields at room temperature, well above the Curie temperature of 40 K. We attribute this behavior to the existence of nanoscale Fe-rich ferromagnetic domains acting as superparamagnets. By fitting the magnetization curves using the Langevin function representing superparamagnetism plus the paramagnetic linear function, we estimated the average magnetic moment of the nanoscale ferromagnetic domain to be 300-400 $μ_{B}$, and the fraction of Fe atoms participating in the nano-scale ferromagnetism to be $\sim$50%. Such behavior was also reported for (In,Fe)As:Be and Ge:Fe, and seems to be a universal characteristic of the Fe-doped ferromagnetic semiconductors. Further Fe doping up to 14% led to the weakening of the ferromagnetism probably because antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction between nearest-neighbor Fe-Fe pairs becomes dominant.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Systematic study of the electronic structure and the magnetic properties of a few-nm-thick epitaxial (Ni1-xCox)Fe2O4 (x = 0 - 1) layers grown on Al2O3(111)/Si(111) using soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism: effects of cation distribution

We study the electronic structure and the magnetic properties of epitaxial (Ni1-xCox)Fe2O4(111) layers (x = 0 - 1) with thicknesses d = 1.7 - 5.2 nm grown on Al2O3(111)/Si(111) structures, to achieve a high value of inversion parameter y, which is the inverse-to-normal spinel-structure ratio, and hence to obtain good magnetic properties even when the thickness is thin enough for electron tunneling as a spin filter. We revealed the crystallographic (octahedral Oh or tetrahedral Td) sites and the valences of the Fe, Co, and Ni cations using experimental soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra and configuration-interaction cluster-model calculation. In all the (Ni1-xCox)Fe2O4 layers with d = about 4 nm, all Ni cations occupy the Ni2+ (Oh) site, whereas Co cations occupy the three different Co2+ (Oh), Co2+ (Td), and Co3+ (Oh) sites with constant occupancies. According to these features, the occupancy of the Fe3+ (Oh) cations decreases and that of the Fe3+ (Td) cations increases with decreasing x. Consequently, we obtained a systematic increase of y with decreasing x and achieved the highest y value of 0.91 for the NiFe2O4 layer with d = 3.5 nm. From the d dependences of y and magnetization in the d range of 1.7 - 5.2 nm, a magnetically dead layer is present near the NiFe2O4/Al2O3 interface, but its influence on the magnetization was significantly suppressed compared with the case of CoFe2O4 layers reported previously [Y. K. Wakabayasi et al., Phys. Rev. B 96, 104410 (2017)], due to the high site selectivity of the Ni cations. Since our epitaxial NiFe2O4 layer with d = 3.5 nm has a high y values (0.91) and a reasonably large magnetization (180 emu/cc), it is expected to exhibit a strong spin filter effect, which can be used for efficient spin injection into Si.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Electronic States and Possible Origin of the Orbital-Glass State in a Nearly Metallic Spinel Cobalt Vanadate: An X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism Study

We have investigated the orbital states of the orbital-glassy (short-range orbital ordered) spinel vanadate Co$_{1.21}$V$_{1.79}$O$_{4}$ using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), and subsequent configuration-interaction cluster-model calculation. From the sign of the XMCD spectra, it was found that the spin magnetic moment of the Co ion is aligned parallel to the applied magnetic field and that of the V ion anti-parallel to it, consistent with neutron scattering studies. It was revealed that the excess Co ions at the octahedral site take the trivalent low-spin state, and induce a random potential to the V sublattice. The orbital magnetic moment of the V ion is small although finite, suggesting that the ordered orbitals mainly consists of real-number orbitals.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Effect(s) of Cobalt Substitution in $L1_{0}$-(Fe,Co)Pt Thin Films

We have studied the effect of cobalt substitution in $L1_{0}$-Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$Pt films by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and first-principles calculations. The magnetic moments of Fe ($\sim$2.5 $μ_{\rm B}$) and Co ($\sim$1.5 $μ_{\rm B}$) deduced using XMCD were almost unchanged upon Co doping, and the net magnetization decreases with increasing Co content. Calculation also showed that the 3$d$ electrons that have been added by Co substitution occupy only spin-down bands.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Electronic structure and magnetic properties of magnetically dead layers in epitaxial CoFe2O4/Al2O3/Si(111) films studied by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism

Epitaxial CoFe2O4/Al2O3 bilayers are expected to be highly efficient spin injectors into Si owing to the spin filter effect of CoFe2O4. To exploit the full potential of this system, understanding the microscopic origin of magnetically dead layers at the CoFe2O4/Al2O3 interface is necessary. In this paper, we study the crystallographic and electronic structures and the magnetic properties of CoFe2O4(111) layers with various thicknesses (thickness d = 1.4, 2.3, 4, and 11 nm) in the epitaxial CoFe2O4(111)/Al2O3(111)/Si(111) structures using soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) combined with cluster-model calculation. The magnetization of CoFe2O4 measured by XMCD gradually decreases with decreasing thickness d and finally a magnetically dead layer is clearly detected at d = 1.4 nm. The magnetically dead layer has frustration of magnetic interactions which is revealed from comparison between the magnetizations at 300 and 6 K. From analysis using configuration-interaction cluster-model calculation, the decrease of d leads to a decrease in the inverse-to-normal spinel structure ratio and also a decrease in the average valence of Fe at the octahedral sites. These results strongly indicate that the magnetically dead layer at the CoFe2O4/Al2O3 interface originates from various complex networks of superexchange interactions through the change in the crystallographic and electronic structures. Furthermore, from comparison of the magnetic properties between d = 1.4 and 2.3 nm, it is found that ferrimagnetic order of the magnetically dead layer at d = 1.4 nm is restored by the additional growth of the 0.9-nm-thick CoFe2O4 layer on it.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗