Scientific Achievement
Experimental evidence of chiral ferrimagnetism in amorphous Gd-Co films
Significance and Impact
The work paves the way towards a generalized understanding of (interfacial) vector spin exchange-driven chirality selection in complex multi-component systems, relevant to novel concepts of spintronics.
Research Details
- X-ray micro-spectroscopy and high-resolution Lorentz transmission electron microscopy reveal chiral ferrimagnetic domain walls whose type depends on the rare-earth composition / saturation magnetization, capping, and film thickness
- Magnetic moments of transition metal and rare-earth element exhibit distinct dependence, i.e. on capping and film thickness, resp.
- Results suggest potential temperature control of intrinsic domain wall properties
