Disentangling different interfacial effects of reduced thin layer magnetizations

Abstract

Thin buried magnetic layers ranging from thicknesses of a few atomic monolayers to several nanometers are omnipresent in the fields of magnetism and spintronics. For the functionality and fine tuning of devices build with such layers, exact knowledge of the depth dependent magnetic properties is essential. Especially the interfacial magnetic properties are important. Hence, understanding how magnetism is affected by structural variations, such as thickness or interface roughness, is mandatory. In this study, we use x-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry and magnetometry to study the high-resolution depth dependent magnetization profiles of thin magnetic transition metal layers sandwiched between an oxide and chromium layer. Compared to bulk materials, the room temperature saturation magnetization of these layers is reduced by up to 67%. These reductions are extremely sensitive to small structural variations. From the magnetic depth profiles, we disentangle different effects contributing to the magnetization reduction and the exact magnetic properties of the interface.