Antiferromagnetic Spin Coupling between Rare Earth Adatoms and Iron Islands Probed by Spin-Polarized Tunneling.

ABSTRACT: High-density magnetic storage or quantum computing could be achieved using small magnets with large magnetic anisotropy, a requirement that rare-earth iron alloys fulfill in bulk. This compelling property demands a thorough investigation of the magnetism in low dimensional rare-earth iron structures. Here, we report on the magnetic coupling between 4f single atoms and a 3d magnetic nanoisland. Thulium and lutetium adatoms deposited on iron monolayer islands pseudomorphically grown on W(110) have been investigated at low temperature with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The spin-polarized current indicates that both kind of adatoms have in-plane magnetic moments, which couple antiferromagnetically with their underlying iron islands. Our first-principles calculations explain t

SUBMITTER: Coffey D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4558548 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature