Cobalt doped ZnO film assembled by the nanoparticles was prepared by low energy cluster beam deposition.The microstructure,phase structure and optical properties were investigated for the nanostructured films.The results show that the nanostructured film was assembled by monodisperse spherical nanoparticles with average diameter of about 29.3 nm which are distributed uniformly and compactly.The results of X-ray diffraction(XRD)show that cobalt doped ZnO nanostructured film is indexed to a wurtzite structure of ZnO,and no Co-phase structure and other phases are observed.The UV-visible absorption spectra show that the optical band-gap of the film is broadened after doping.
Since the exchange bias (EB) effect was discovered in the Co/CoO core-shell nanoparticles, it has been extensively studied in various ferromagnet (FM)/antiferromagnet (AFM) bilayers due to its crucial role in spintronics devices. In this article, we review the investigation of the EB in our research group. First, we outline basic features of the EB, including the effects of the constituent layer thickness, the microstructure and magnetization of the FM layers, and we also discuss asymmetric magnetization reversal process in wedged-FM/AFM bilayers. Secondly, we discuss the mechanisms of the positive EB and the perpendicular EB. Thirdly, we demonstrate the hysteretic behavior of the angular dependence of the EB and analyze the EB training effect. Finally, we discuss the roles of the rotatable anisotropy in the two phenomena.
Recent advances in the study of magnetic atomic structures on noble metal surfaces are reviewed. These include one- dimensional strings, two-dimensional hexagonal superlattices, and novel structures stabilized by quantum guiding. The combined techniques of low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and ab initio calculations reveal that surface-state-mediated adatom-step and adatom-adatom interactions are the driving forces for self- assembly of these structures. The formation conditions are further discussed by comparing various experimental systems and the kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and tight-binding calculations together, we reveal that the spectra of these well-ordered structures have characteristic peaks induced by electronic scattering processes of the atoms within the local environment. Moreover, it is demonstrated that quantum confinement by means of nano-size corrals has significant influence on adatom diffusion and self-assembly, leading to a quantum-guided self-assembly.
Interfacial magnetic anisotropy in a Pt/CO1-xFex/Pt multilayer is tuned by doping iron atoms into the cobalt layer. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and out-of-plane coercivity are found to decrease with increasing x. For a specific x, the out-of-plane coercivity acquires a maximal value as a function of the thickness of the CoFe layer. At low temperature, the coercivity is enhanced. Small coercivity but reasonably large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be obtained by controlling the x and CoFe layer thickness.
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is obtained in a symmetric U-shaped metamaterial, which is at- tributed to the simultaneously excited dual modes in a single resonator under lateral incidence. A large group index accom- panied with a sharp EIT-like transparency window offers potential applications for slowing down light and sensing.
A significant exchange bias (EB) traimng ettect has been observea in sputter deposited FeAu/FeNi bilayers, wherein the exchange field (HE) exhibits a special sign-changeable temperature dependence. Very interestingly, despite the absence of multiple easy axes in the FeAu spin glass (SG) layer, HE drops abruptly between the first and second magnetic cycles, which is followed by a more gradual continuous change in the subsequent cycles. This training behavior cannot be described by the empirical n-1/2 law because of the asymmetric magnetization reversal processes. We propose modifying Binek's model to include the asymmetric changes of the pinning SG spins at the descending and ascending branches. This new model successfully describes the EB training effect in FeAu/FeNi bilayers.