Depth-resolved studies of layered magnetic nanostructures using 57Fe probe layers and Mössbauer spectroscopy

Abstract

An atomic-scale quantitative analysis of the structural and magnetic properties of surfaces, interfaces and complex nanostructures is of fundamental relevance for the development of new materials for spintronics. Studies of buried magnetic interfaces and depth-resolved measurements in layered magnetic nanostructures are particularly challenging, and the combination of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy and/or nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation with isotope-enriched probe layers can be a powerful tool in this field.

The potential offered by the application of isotope-selective measurements for the study of Fe-based layered magnetic nanostructures is illustrated with our recent results on the investigation of depth-dependent spin structures and interfacial interdiffusion in exchange-biased ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic bilayer systems and of an epitaxial magnetic system with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, obtained from samples prepared with ultrathin 57Fe probe layers placed at different depths during the growth processes, via molecular beam epitaxy or sputtering deposition.