Structural and electronic properties of epitaxial multilayer h-BN on Ni(111) for spintronics applications.

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a promising material for implementation in spintronics due to a large band gap, low spin-orbit coupling, and a small lattice mismatch to graphene and to close-packed surfaces of fcc-Ni(111) and hcp-Co(0001). Epitaxial deposition of h-BN on ferromagnetic metals is aimed at small interface scattering of charge and spin carriers. We report on the controlled growth of h-BN/Ni(111) by means of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Structural and electronic properties of this system are investigated using cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron spectroscopies which confirm good agreement with the properties of bulk h-BN. The latter are also corroborated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, revealing that the first h-BN layer at the interface to Ni is metallic. Our investigations demonstrate that MBE is a promising, versatile alternative to both the exfoliation approach and chemical vapour deposition of h-BN.

Electric field-driven coherent spin reorientation of optically generated electron spin packets in InGaAs.

Full electric-field control of spin orientations is one of the key tasks in semiconductor spintronics. We demonstrate that electric-field pulses can be utilized for phase-coherent ±π spin rotation of optically generated electron spin packets in InGaAs epilayers detected by time-resolved Faraday rotation. Through spin-orbit interaction, the electric-field pulses act as local magnetic field pulses. By the temporal control of the local magnetic field pulses, we can turn on and off electron spin precession and thereby rotate the spin direction into arbitrary orientations in a two-dimensional plane. Furthermore, we demonstrate a spin-echo-type spin drift experiment and find an unexpected partial spin rephasing, which is evident by a doubling of the spin dephasing time.

Investigation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for MR-visualization of surgical implants.

For the development of a surgical mesh implant that is visible in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIOs) are integrated into the material of the mesh. In order to get a high quality mesh regarding both mechanical and imaging properties, a narrow size distribution and homogenous spatial distribution, as well as a strong magnetization of SPIOs within the filament of the mesh are required. In this work, six different samples of SPIOs composed of a magnetite core are synthesized with and without stabilizing dodecanoic acid and analyzed using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a magnetic force microscope (MFM) to determine the properties that are beneficial for the assembly and imaging of the implant. These analyses show the feasibility of visualization of surgical implants with incorporated SPIOs and the influence of the agglomeration of SPIOs on their magnetization and on a homogenous spatial distribution within the polymer of the mesh.

Observation of long spin-relaxation times in bilayer graphene at room temperature.

We report on the first systematic study of spin transport in bilayer graphene (BLG) as a function of mobility, minimum conductivity, charge density, and temperature. The spin-relaxation time τ(s) scales inversely with the mobility µ of BLG samples both at room temperature (RT) and at low temperature (LT). This indicates the importance of D'yakonov-Perel' spin scattering in BLG. Spin-relaxation times of up to 2 ns at RT are observed in samples with the lowest mobility. These times are an order of magnitude longer than any values previously reported for single-layer graphene (SLG). We discuss the role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that could lead to the dominance of D'yakonov-Perel' spin scattering in BLG. In comparison to SLG, significant changes in the carrier density dependence of τ(s) are observed as a function of temperature.

Two-dimensional optical control of electron spin orientation by linearly polarized light in InGaAs.

Optical absorption of circularly polarized light is well known to yield an electron spin polarization in direct band gap semiconductors. We demonstrate that electron spins can even be generated with high efficiency by absorption of linearly polarized light in InxGa(1-x)As. By changing the incident linear polarization direction we can selectively excite spins in both polar and transverse directions. These directions can be identified by the phase during spin precession using time-resolved Faraday rotation. We show that the spin orientations do not depend on the crystal axes suggesting an extrinsic excitation mechanism.

Magnetite: a search for the half-metallic state.

We present a detailed study of the spin-dependent electronic structure of thin epitaxial magnetite films of different crystallographic orientations. Using spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy at room temperature, we determine for epitaxial Fe(3)O(4)(111) films a maximum spin polarization value of -(80 ± 5)% near E(F). The spin-resolved photoelectron spectra for binding energies between 1.5 eV and E(F) show good agreement with the spin-split band structure from density functional theory (DFT) calculations which predict an overall energy gap in the spin-up electron bands in high symmetry directions, thus providing evidence for the half-metallic ferromagnetic state of Fe(3)O(4) in the [111] direction. In the case of the Fe(3)O(4)(100) surface, both the spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiments and the DFT density of states give evidence for a half-metal to metal transition: the measured spin polarization of about -(55 ± 10)% at E(F) and the theoretical value of -40% are significantly lower than the -100% predicted by local spin density approximation (LSDA) calculations for the bulk magnetite crystal as well as the -(80 ± 5)% obtained for the Fe(3)O(4)(111) films. The experimental findings were corroborated by DFT calculations as due to a surface reconstruction leading to the electronic states in the majority-spin band gap and thus to the reduced spin polarization.

Computational methods to produce enhanced images out of given SNOM raw data.

We propose to produce enhanced images out of given raw data read out by SNOM through (i) improved image formation from the raw data; (ii) wavelet de-noising of the image; and (iii) resolution enhancement by deconvolution. Our methods of improvement are based on refined models for the reduction of noise present in SNOM images and on a linear model for the imaging process. They are successfully demonstrated on (magneto-)optical SNOM images of suitable test samples, but yet they are applicable to other scanning probe microscopy techniques.

Strong anisotropy of projected 3d moments in epitaxial CrO2 films.

Soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectra have been investigated for different crystallographic projections of CrO2. Strong anisotropic orbital Cr 3d contributions and a change of sign of the XMCD signal is observed and attributed to t(2g) majority states near the Fermi level. Additionally, moment analysis exhibits anisotropic behavior in the projected spin contributions of CrO2 assigned to a strong magnetic dipole term T(z), consistent with an intrinsic magnetic easy axis behavior along the CrO2 [001] axis. A reduced projected isotropic Cr 3d spin moment has been interpreted in terms of hybridization with oxygen.

Stripe conductivity in La1.775Sr0.225NiO4

We report Raman light-scattering and optical conductivity measurements on a single crystal of La1.775Sr0.225NiO4 which exhibits incommensurate charge-stripe order. The extra phonon peaks induced by stripe order can be understood in terms of the energies of phonons that occur at the charge-order wave vector Q(c). A strong Fano antiresonance for a Ni-O bond-stretching mode provides clear evidence for finite dynamical conductivity within the charge stripes.

Diluted antiferromagnets in exchange bias: proof of the domain state model

The exchange bias coupling at ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic interfaces in epitaxially grown Co/CoO layers can intentionally be increased by a factor of up to 3 if the antiferromagnetic CoO layer is diluted by nonmagnetic defects in its volume part away from the interface. Monte Carlo simulations of a simple model of a ferromagnetic layer on a diluted antiferromagnet show exchange bias and explain qualitatively its dilution and temperature dependence. These investigations reveal that diluting the antiferromagnet leads to the formation of volume domains, which cause and control exchange bias.

Collective singlet excitations and evolution of raman spectral weights in the 2D spin dimer compound SrCu2(BO3)(2)

Raman light scattering of the two-dimensional quantum spin system SrCu2(BO3)(2) shows a rich structure in the magnetic excitation spectrum, including several well-defined bound state modes at low temperature, and a scattering continuum and quasielastic light scattering contributions at high temperature. The key to the understanding of the unique features of SrCu2(BO3)(2) is the presence of strong interactions between well-localized triplet excitations in the network of orthogonal spin dimers realized in this compound.