Tuning the Magnetic Anisotropy at a Molecule-Metal Interface

K. Bairagi (1) , A. Bellec (1) , Vincent Repain (1) , C. Chacon (1) , Y. Girard (1) , Y. Garreau (1) , J. Lagoute (1) , S. Rousset (1) , R. Breitwieser (2) , Yu-Cheng Hu (2) , Yen Cheng Chao (2) , Woei Wu Pai (2) , D. Li (3) , A. Smogunov (4, 3) , Cyrille Barreteau (5, 4, 3)

1 MPQ (UMR_7162) - Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques
2 NTU - National Taiwan University [Taiwan]
3 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
4 GMT - Groupe Modélisation et Théorie
5 DTU Nanotech

We demonstrate that a C 60 overlayer enhances the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of a Co thin film, inducing an inverse spin reorientation transition from in plane to out of plane. The driving force is the C 60 =Co interfacial magnetic anisotropy that we have measured quantitatively in situ as a function of the C 60 coverage. Comparison with state-of-the-art ab initio calculations show that this interfacial anisotropy mainly arises from the local hybridization between C 60 p z and Co d z 2 orbitals. By generalizing these arguments, we also demonstrate that the hybridization of C 60 with a Fe(110) surface decreases the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These results open the way to tailor the interfacial magnetic anisotropy in organic-material–ferromagnet systems.

Keywords: 7570Cn; 7820Ls; 7530Gw; 7320Hb

Domains: Physics [physics]

K. Bairagi, A. Bellec, Vincent Repain, C. Chacon, Y. Girard, et al.. Tuning the Magnetic Anisotropy at a Molecule-Metal Interface. Physical Review Letters, 2015, 114 (24), pp.247203. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.247203⟩. ⟨cea-01366478⟩