Magnetic anisotropy related to hybridization between Fe 3$d$ and As 4$p$ orbitals in a bcc Fe-As thin film

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic anisotropy in a new bcc Fe-As thin film, revealing that hybridization between Fe 3d and As 4p orbitals, influenced by epitaxial strain, plays a key role in its magnetic properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the role of As ions and orbital hybridization in magnetic anisotropy of Fe-based thin films, providing insights for designing magnetic materials with tailored anisotropy.

Findings

As ions contribute to ferromagnetism via orbital hybridization.

Magnetic dipole anisotropy is linked to strain-induced hybridization.

Orbital magnetic moment is isotropic in the studied film.

Abstract

The magnetic anisotropy (MA) of Fe-based ferromagnetic thin films has been extensively studied for device applications. The examined material is a new Fe-based ferromagnetic thin film, bcc Fe$_{1-x}$As$_x$ (Fe-As) with the in-plane MA (IMA) grown on a GaAs (111)B substrate. The magnetic properties of the Fe-As thin film have been investigated by Xray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and magnetic circular dichroism in hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (MCD-HAXPES) to elucidate the role of As ions in the IMA. The XMCD spectra at the Fe $L_{2,3}$ edge and MCD-HAXPES spectra of the Fe 2$p$ core level exhibit ferromagnetic and metallic features like Fe metal. The XMCD at the As $L_{2,3}$ edge demonstrates that the As ions contribute to the ferromagnetism of bcc Fe-As through the hybridization between the Fe 3$d$ and As 4$p$ orbitals. The estimations of the magnetic moments of Fe using the XMCD sum rules have revealed that the orbital magnetic moment is isotropic and the magnetic dipole term is anisotropic. The anisotropy of the magnetic dipole term can be attributed to the anisotropic $p-d$ hybridization due to epitaxial strain, contributing to the IMA of bcc Fe-As. Our findings enlighten the mechanism of the MA of the non-magnetic ion-doped bcc Fe thin film, which can be applied to other magnetic 3$d$ transition metal thin films doped with non-magnetic elements.