Discrete change of spin-density-wave modulation in Cr(100)/Sn multilayers as a function of Cr layer thickness

Fine-tuning of the spin-density-wave state in Cr/V heterostructures via hydrogen uptake

We show that the magnetic state in rather thick Cr films can be finely tuned via hydrogen uptake into adjacent vanadium layers at rather low hydrogen pressures. By changing the hydrogen concentration and, hence, the electronic structure in the V layers, it is possible to affect the global properties of spin-density waves (SDWs) in Cr layers, including the SDW period and the Néel temperature. We provide direct experimental evidence that hydrogen uptake into V layers can be used to switch between incommensurate and commensurate SDW states in a reproducible way.

Exchange bias as a probe of the incommensurate spin-density wave in epitaxial Fe/Cr(001)

We report clear multiple period oscillations in the temperature dependence of exchange bias in an Fe thin film exchange coupled to a neighboring Cr film. The oscillations arise due to an incommensurate spin-density wave in the Cr, with wave vector perpendicular to the Fe/Cr(001) interface. The exchange bias and coercivity allow for a determination of the extent of the thermally driven wavelength expansion, the (strain-suppressed) spin-flip transition temperature, and the Cr Néel temperature, which show a crossover from bulklike to finite-size behavior at a Cr thickness of approximately 1100 A. The data are consistent with a transition from a transverse to longitudinal wave on cooling.

Hysteretic spin-density-wave ordering in confined geometries

We have measured the antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave (SDW) order in Cr/Cr(97.5)Mn2.5(001) superlattices. The Mn doping creates a high Néel temperature layer that confines the incommensurate SDW order within the Cr layers. With temperature cycling we observe a transition from commensurate to incommensurate SDW order and discrete changes in the SDW period. We find that these transitions show significant hysteresis (up to 75 K) when the number of SDW nodes within the Cr layer changes by an odd number, while there is no hysteresis for changes of an even number of nodes. This results from the competition between maintaining the spin structure at the interfaces and introducing a spin slip at the nodes of the Cr SDW.