Spin-correlations and magnetic structure in an Fe monolayer on 5d transition metal surfaces

Tuning Ferromagnetism in a Single Layer of Fe above Room Temperature

The crystallographic and magnetic properties of an Fe monolayer (ML) grown on 2 ML Au/W(110) substrate are studied with spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy, density functional theory, and relativistic screened Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker calculations. The single layer of iron atoms possesses hexagonal symmetry and reveals a ferromagnetic order at room temperature. We experimentally demonstrate the possibility of tuning the Curie temperature and the magnitude of magnetization of the Fe monolayer by capping with Au. Taking into account several structural models, the calculation results mostly show ferromagnetic states with enhanced magnetic moments of Fe atoms compared to their bulk value and a further increase in their value after covering with Au. The theoretically calculated Curie temperatures are in fair agreement with those obtained in the experiments. The calculations, furthermore, found evidence for the presence of frustrated isotropic Fe–Fe exchange interactions, and a discussion of the structural effects on the magnetic properties is provided herein.

Spontaneous skyrmionic lattice from anisotropic symmetric exchange in a Ni-halide monolayer

Topological spin structures, such as magnetic skyrmions, hold great promises for data storage applications, thanks to their inherent stability. In most cases, skyrmions are stabilized by magnetic fields in non-centrosymmetric systems displaying the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange interaction, while spontaneous skyrmion lattices have been reported in centrosymmetric itinerant magnets with long-range interactions. Here, a spontaneous anti-biskyrmion lattice with unique topology and chirality is predicted in the monolayer of a semiconducting and centrosymmetric metal halide, NiI₂. Our first-principles and Monte Carlo simulations reveal that the anisotropies of the short-range symmetric exchange, when combined with magnetic frustration, can lead to an emergent chiral interaction that is responsible for the predicted topological spin structures. The proposed mechanism finds a prototypical manifestation in two-dimensional magnets, thus broadening the class of materials that can host spontaneous skyrmionic states.

Strain-enhanced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at Co/Pt interfaces

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is an essential ingredient for stabilizing chiral spin configurations in spintronic applications. Here, via first-principles calculations, we reveal the influence of lattice strain on DMI in Co/Pt interface. We observed a considerable enhancement for a certain lattice strain. Furthermore, a direct correlation is established between the DMI and interlayer distances dominated by the strain, which is attributed to a hybridization of electronic orbitals. This hybridization has also been presented as the microscopic origin of the interfacial DMI. We anticipate that our predictions provide new insights into the control of interfacial DMI for skyrmion-based spintronic devices.

Temperature-Induced Increase of Spin Spiral Periods

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy investigations reveal a significant increase of the magnetic period of spin spirals in three-atomic-layer-thick Fe films on Ir(111), from about 4 nm at 8 K to about 65 nm at room temperature. We attribute this considerable influence of temperature on the magnetic length scale of noncollinear spin states to different exchange interaction coefficients in the different Fe layers. We thus propose a classical spin model that reproduces the experimental observations and in which the crucial feature is the presence of magnetically coupled atomic layers with different interaction strengths. This model might also apply for many other systems, especially magnetic multilayers.

Hund's Rule-Driven Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction at 3d-5d Interfaces

Using relativistic first-principles calculations, we show that the chemical trend of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in 3d-5d ultrathin films follows Hund's first rule with a tendency similar to their magnetic moments in either the unsupported 3d monolayers or 3d-5d interfaces. We demonstrate that, besides the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effect in inversion asymmetric noncollinear magnetic systems, the driving force is the 3d orbital occupations and their spin-flip mixing processes with the spin-orbit active 5d states control directly the sign and magnitude of the DMI. The magnetic chirality changes are discussed in the light of the interplay between SOC, Hund's first rule, and the crystal-field splitting of d orbitals.

Coupling of Coexisting Noncollinear Spin States in the Fe Monolayer on Re(0001)

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy is used to investigate the magnetic state of the Fe monolayer on Re(0001). Two coexisting atomic-scale noncollinear spin textures are observed with a sharp transition between them on the order of the atomic lattice spacing. A position correlation between the two spin states is observed both in experiments and in Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrating their coupling behavior.

Magnetic correlations beyond the Heisenberg model in an Fe monolayer on Rh(0 0 1)

Motivated by a recent experimental observation of a complex magnetic structure (Takada et al 2013 J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 329 95) we present a theoretical study of the magnetic structure of an Fe monolayer deposited on Rh(0 0 1). We use a classical spin Hamiltonian with parameters obtained from ab initio calculations and go beyond the usual anisotropic Heisenberg model by including isotropic biquadratic interactions. Zero-temperature Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert spin dynamics simulations lead to a complex collinear spin configuration that, however, contradicts experimental findings. We thus conclude that higher order multi-spin interactions are likely needed to account for the magnetic ordering of the system.