Theoretical study on the electric field effect on magnetism of Pd/Co/Pt thin films

TL;DR

This study uses first principles calculations to explore how an external electric field influences the electronic and magnetic properties of Pt layers in Pd/Co/Pt thin films, revealing tunable magnetic anisotropy and spectral changes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of electric field effects on magnetism and spectra in Pd/Co/Pt thin films, highlighting the tunability of magnetic anisotropy.

Findings

Electric field modifies surface Pt magnetic moments.

Spectral features around Pt L edges are affected by the field.

Magneto-crystalline anisotropy can be tuned by the electric field.

Abstract

Based on first principles calculations we investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of Pt layers in Pd$(001)$/Co/Pt thin film structures exposed to an external electric field. Due to the Co underlayer, the surface Pt layers have induced moments that are modified by an external electric field. The field induced changes can be explained by the modified spin-dependent orbital hybridization that varies non-linearly with the field strength. We calculate the x-ray absorption and the x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra for an applied external electric field and examine its impact on the spectra in the Pt layer around the L$_{2}$ and L$_{3}$ edges. We also determine the layer dependent magneto-crystalline anisotropy and show that the anisotropy can be tuned easily in the different layers by the external electric field.