Interfacial nanostructure induced spin-reorientation transition in Ni/Fe/Ni/W(110)

TL;DR

This study reveals that nanoscale interfacial structures in Ni/Fe/Ni/W(110) induce a spin-reorientation transition by altering dimensionality and magnetic interactions, combining experimental and theoretical approaches.

Contribution

It uncovers the role of nanosized Fe particles and interfacial nanostructure in driving spin-reorientation transitions in Ni/Fe/W(110).

Findings

Nanosized Fe particles form instead of a uniform monolayer.

Interfacial nanostructure changes system dimensionality.

Spin-reorientation driven by weakened dipolar interaction and enhanced spin-orbit coupling.

Abstract

We investigated the mechanism of the spin-reorientation transition (SRT) in the Ni/Fe/Ni/W(110) system using in situ low-energy electron microscopy, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements, and first principles electronic structure calculations. We discovered that the growth of Fe on a flat Ni film on a W (110) crystal resulted in the formation of nanosized particles, instead of a uniform monolayer of Fe as commonly assumed. This interfacial nanostructure leads to a change of the system's dimensionality from two dimensional- to three dimensional-like, which simultaneously weakens the dipolar interaction and enhances the spin-orbit coupling in the system and drives the observed SRT.