Noncollinear surface spin density by surface reconstruction in the alloy NiMn

Surface wrinkling on polydimethylsiloxane microspheres via wet surface chemical oxidation

Here we introduce a simple low-cost yet robust method to realize spontaneously wrinkled morphologies on spherical surfaces. It is based on surface chemical oxidation of aqueous-phase-synthesized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microspheres in the mixed H2SO4/HNO3/H2O solution. Consequently, curvature and overstress-sensitive wrinkles including dimples and labyrinth patterns are successfully induced on the resulting oxidized PDMS microspheres. A power-law dependence of the wrinkling wavelength on the microsphere radius exists. The effects of experimental parameters on these tunable spherical wrinkles have been systematically investigated, when the microspheres are pre-deposited on a substrate. These parameters include the radius and modulus of microspheres, the mixed acid solution composition, the oxidation duration, and the water washing post-treatment. Meanwhile, the complicated chemical oxidation process has also been well studied by in-situ optical observation via the microsphere system, which represents an intractable issue in a planar system. Furthermore, we realize surface wrinkled topographies on the whole microspheres at a large scale, when microspheres are directly dispersed in the mixed acid solution for surface oxidation. These results indicate that the introduced wet surface chemical oxidation has the great potential to apply to other complicated curved surfaces for large-scale generation of well-defined wrinkling patterns, which endow the solids with desired physical properties.

Parity effect in the ground state localization of antiferromagnetic chains coupled to a ferromagnet

We investigate the ground states of antiferromagnetic Mn nanochains on Ni(110) by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy in combination with theory. While the ferrimagnetic linear trimer experimentally shows the predicted collinear classical ground state, no magnetic contrast was observed for dimers and tetramers where noncollinear structures were expected based on ab initio theory. This striking observation can be explained by zero-point energy motion for even-numbered chains derived within a classical equation of motion leading to nonclassical ground states. Thus, depending on the parity of the chain length, the system shows a classical or a quantum behavior.

Three-dimensional spin mapping of antiferromagnetic nanopyramids having spatially alternating surface anisotropy at room temperature

Antiferromagnets play a key role in modern spintronic devices owing to their ability to modify the switching behavior of adjacent ferromagnets via the exchange bias effect. Consequently, detailed measurements of the spin structure at antiferromagnetic interfaces and surfaces are highly desirable, not only for advancing technologies but also for enabling new insights into the underlying physics. Here using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy at room-temperature, we reveal in three-dimensions an orthogonal spin structure on antiferromagnetic compound nanopyramids. Contrary to expected uniaxial anisotropy based on bulk properties, the atomic terraces are found to have alternating in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic anisotropies. The observed layer-wise alternation in anisotropy could have strong influences on future nanoscale spintronic applications.

MAGNETIC MAP OF MnNi ALLOYED MONOLAYER ON Cu(001) SUBSTRATE: AB-INITIO CALCULATIONS

In this work, a theoretical study of the structural, electronic and magnetic properties are presented for Mn 0.5 Ni 0.5 alloyed overlayer adsorbed on Cu (001) surface. The calculations were performed using the density functional theory (DFT) and the exchange-correlation potential was treated by the generalized gradient approximation (GGA).

The system was fully relaxed except for the central layer, which yields to outward relaxations and inward Mn and Ni surface atoms, respectively in the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic configurations. The in-plane ferromagnetic configuration was found to be more stable than the antiferromagnetic one by 25 meV/atom. The local magnetic moments of Mn atoms were found to be about 4 μ B , whereas those of the Ni atoms where found to be 0.46 μ B .

Investigation of non-collinear spin states with scanning tunneling microscopy

Most ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic substances show a simple collinear arrangement of the local spins. Under certain circumstances, however, the spin configuration is non-collinear. Scanning tunneling microscopy with its potential atomic resolution is an ideal tool for investigating these complex spin structures. Non-collinearity can be due to topological frustration of the exchange interaction, due to relativistic spin-orbit coupling or can be found in excited states. Examples for all three cases are given, illustrating the capabilities of spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy.

Revealing the 120 degrees antiferromagnetic Néel structure in real space: one monolayer Mn on Ag(111)

With spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy operating in the constant current mode, the 120 degrees antiferromagnetic Néel structure was found for a monolayer Mn on Ag(111) in both fcc and hcp stacking. The existence of structurally equivalent, but magnetically distinguished, Mn islands was observed. While both the fcc and hcp Mn islands display the frustrated spin structure, the orientations of their magnetic moments differ by 30 degrees possibly due to the spin-orbit coupling.