Surface spin-flop transition in a uniaxial antiferromagnetic Fe/Cr superlattice induced by a magnetic field of arbitrary direction

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dc.creatorPini, M. G.
dc.creatorRettori, A.
dc.creatorBetti, P.
dc.creatorJiang, J. S.
dc.creatorVelthuis, S. G. E. te
dc.creatorFelcher, G. P.
dc.creatorBader, S. D.
dc.date2007-03-14
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T07:51:49Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T07:51:49Z
dc.descriptionWe studied the transition between the antiferromagnetic and the surface spin-flop phases of a uniaxial antiferromagnetic [Fe(14 Å)/Cr(11 Å]$_{\rm x20}$ superlattice. For external fields applied parallel to the in-plane easy axis, the layer-by-layer configuration, calculated in the framework of a mean-field one-dimensional model, was benchmarked against published polarized neutron reflectivity data. For an in-plane field $H$ applied at an angle $ψ\ne 0$ with the easy axis, magnetometry shows that the magnetization $M$ vanishes at H=0, then increases slowly with increasing $H$. At a critical value of $H$, a finite jump in $M(H)$ is observed for $ψ<5^{\rm o}$, while a smooth increase of $M$ $vs$ $H$ is found for $ψ>5^{\rm o}$. A dramatic increase in the full width at half maximum of the magnetic susceptibility is observed for $ψ\ge 5^{\rm o}$. The phase diagram obtained from micromagnetic calculations displays a first-order transition to a surface spin-flop phase for low $ψ$ values, while the transition becomes continuous for $ψ$ greater than a critical angle, $ψ_{\rm max} \approx 4.75^{\rm o}$. This is in fair agreement with the experimentally observed results.
dc.description24 pages, 7 figures
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0703371
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0703371
dc.identifierJ. Phys.: Condens. Matter 19 (2007) 136001
dc.identifierdoi:10.1088/0953-8984/19/13/136001
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/125655
dc.subjectMaterials Science
dc.subjectStatistical Mechanics
dc.titleSurface spin-flop transition in a uniaxial antiferromagnetic Fe/Cr superlattice induced by a magnetic field of arbitrary direction
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