Quantifying exchange forces of a spin spiral on the atomic scale.

ABSTRACT: The large interest in chiral magnetic structures for realization of nanoscale magnetic storage or logic devices has necessitated methods which can quantify magnetic interactions at the atomic scale. To overcome the limitations of the typically used current-based sensing of atomic-scale exchange interactions, a force-based detection scheme is highly advantageous. Here, we quantify the atomic-scale exchange force field between a ferromagnetic tip and a cycloidal spin spiral using our developed combination of current and exchange force detection. Compared to the surprisingly weak spin polarization, the exchange force field is more sensitive to atomic-scale variations in the magnetization. First-principles calculations reveal that the measured atomic-scale variations in the exchange force orig

SUBMITTER: Hauptmann N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7057993 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature