Stabilized Interfacial Ferromagnetism and Enhanced Magnetoelectric Properties of Ultrathin FeRh Films Capped with Heavy Transition Metal Ta

TL;DR

This study uses ab initio calculations to show that heavy metal Ta capping stabilizes ferromagnetism in ultrathin FeRh films, enhances magnetoelectric responses, and alters VCMA behavior, advancing potential applications in magnetic memory and spintronics.

Contribution

It reveals how Ta capping influences phase stability, magnetic properties, and electric field responses of ultrathin FeRh films, providing new insights for spintronic device design.

Findings

Ta capping reverses phase stability below 1.5 nm

Stabilizes ferromagnetic phase and interfacial ferromagnetism

Enhances magnetoelectric responses and changes VCMA behavior

Abstract

Thin FeRh film was extensively studied recently, and an emergent substrate- and capping-dependent interfacial ferromagnetism (FM) was widely observed in experiments. However, the voltage modulation of this interfacial ferromagnetism is barely studied, which would have profound applications in antiferromagnetic (AFM) FeRh-based magnetoelectric-random access memory (MeRAM). Using ab initio techniques, we comparatively study the interfacial ferromagnetic properties and magnetoelectric responses of ultrathin FeRh films capped by heavy transition metal Ta. We find that Ta capping reverses the phase stability of ultrathin FeRh film below 1.5 nm and gigantically stabilizes the ferromagnetic phase and interfacial ferromagnetism. Besides, small magnetic moment of 2.2 $\mu_B$ for neighboring Fe atoms, regardless of magnetic configurations and film thickness, is induced by Ta capping. Compared with FeRh/MgO bilayers, magnetic anisotropies (in-plane for AFM, perpendicular for FM and interfacial-FM reconstructed trilayers) and magnetoelectric responses of these trilayers are enhanced. Furthermore, the VCMA behavior in FM phase is changed from $\vee$-shaped to linear. These findings demonstrate the manipulation of magnetic ordering of FeRh films with heavy metal capping and electric field and can promote the application of FeRh alloy in magnetic memory and antiferromagnetic spintronics.