Solid State and Optics Seminar

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

1:00 p.m.

107 Mason Lab

"Tailoring Magnetic Properties of Antiferromagnetic Oxide Films via Interface Engineering"

Prof. Boris Sinkovic

Department of Physics,
University of Connecticut

Abstract

Magnetic order is one of characteristics of 3d transition metal (TM) oxides that has important consequences in variety of fields. Recently, there has been much interest in magnetism of thin oxide films and systems with reduced dimensions in general. However, a large class of 3d TM oxides exhibits antiferromagnetic (AFM) order with no net magnetization, which makes it difficult to control magnetic properties of such films by external magnetic field, as it is commonly done with ferromagnetic films. Lack of net magnetization also makes it difficult to probe magnetic ordering and is the main reason why the magnetic properties of AFM oxide films are relatively poorly understood. In this talk we focus on magnetic properties of single-crystal NiO films as a prototype of a simple oxide with antiferromagnetic order. The topics covered include results on controlling the magnetic anisotropy and the domain structure of NiO films, as well as exchange coupling of NiO films to ferromagnetic substrates and overlayers by surfaces and interface nanoengineering.

Host: Vic Henrich