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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 15: Magnetic Thin Films II
MA 15.5: Talk
Tuesday, March 8, 2016, 10:30–10:45, H33
Exchange driven spin spiral in Rh/Fe/Ir(111) — •Niklas Romming1, Markus Hoffmann2,3, Bertrand Dupé2, André Kubetzka1, Kirsten von Bergmann1, Stefan Heinze2, and Roland Wiesendanger1 — 1Department of Physics, University of Hamburg, 20355 Hamburg, Germany — 2Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Kiel, 24098 Kiel, Germany — 3PGI-1/IAS-1, FZ Jülich and JARA, D-52424 Jülich, Germany
Magnetism in ultra-thin films can substantially differ from commonly known magnetic configurations e.g. due to hybridization at the interface, stacking faults, and broken inversion symmetry [1]. Spin spiral and skyrmion states were found in mono- and double layers of 3d on 5d transition-metal surfaces due to the competition between various magnetic interactions [1]. It was recently shown that the magnetic interactions of Fe/Ir(111) can be altered with a non-magnetic adlayer of Pd, changing its magnetic state from a nanoskyrmion lattice with 1 nm period to a spin spiral with 6-7 nm period [2].
Here, we combine spin-polarised STM with first-principles calculations to investigate the influence of a Rh adlayer on Fe/Ir(111). We show that the magnetic ground state of Rh/Fe/Ir(111) is a spin spiral with a period of 1-2 nm, which is driven by the exchange interaction. Its propagation direction depends on the Rh stacking and can deviate from the high-symmetry directions.
[1] K. von Bergmann et al., JPCM 26, 394002 (2014)
[2] N. Romming et al., Science 341, 636 (2013); B. Dupé et al., Nature Commun. 5, 4030 (2014)