Magnetic Phase Control in Monolayer Films by Substrate Tuning

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how tuning the substrate composition can control magnetic phases in monolayer films, enabling complex magnetic states and potential information storage applications.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate exchange interactions in monolayer magnetic films via substrate tuning, revealing phase transitions and complex magnetic orders.

Findings

Ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition observed

Near the critical substrate composition, magnetic phase space broadens

Complex magnetic states like spin-spirals can be stabilized

Abstract

We propose to tailor exchange interactions in magnetic monolayer films by tuning the adjacent non-magnetic substrate. As an example, we demonstrate a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition for one monolayer Fe on a Ta(x)W(1-x)(001) surface as a function of the Ta concentration. At the critical Ta concentration, the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction is small and the magnetic phase space is dramatically broadened. Complex magnetic order such as spin-spirals, multiple-Q, or even disordered local moment states can occur, offering the possibility to store information in terms of ferromagnetic dots in an otherwise zero-magnetization state matrix.