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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 30: Electron Theory

MA 30.6: Talk

Thursday, February 28, 2008, 15:45–16:00, H 1028

Modification of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of transition metal films by external electric fields: density functional calculations — •Hongbin Zhang, Ferenc Tasnadi, Ingo Opahle, and Manuel Richter — IFW Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Recent experiments verified a modification of the Magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MA) of FePt and FePd films by electrochemical charging [1]. We have carried out density functional calculations for such slabs, using the relativistic version of the full-potential local-orbital (FPLO) code. The electric field is simulated by virtual crystal approximation (VCA) applied to the surface atoms. Good agreement between the calculated dependence of the MA on the external field with the experimental data is achieved. It is demonstrated, that the variation of MA is a surface effect. However, correct finite size scaling is important for the quantitative results. We predict that the electric field dependence of MA is even stronger for CoPt films than for FePt films.

[1] M. Weisheit et al., Science 315 (2007) 349.