Abstract
Spin valves comprising a synthetic antiferromagnet and a CoFe/Dy/CoFe structure in the pinned layer were prepared by magnetron sputtering. It is shown that the Dy layer is characterized by crystallites, the [0002] direction of which is perpendicular to the film plane; a part of nanostructure, in which the spin-dependent electron scattering occurs, is characterized by smooth interfaces. Variations of magnetotransport properties of the spin valve, which are due to the formation of antiferromagnetic order in the dysprosium layer, are observed. Peculiarities of noncollinear magnetic order of the Dy layer were found to depend on the direction of magnetic moments of adjacent layers and magnetic field strength when passing through the Néel temperature.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Studies of the nanostructure were performed in the Collective Usage Testing Center for Nanotechnologies and Advanced Materials at the Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences.
Funding
The study was performed in terms of state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (theme SPIN no. АААА-А18-118020290104-2) and was partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 19-02-00057).
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Translated by N. Kolchugina
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Zavornitsyn, R.S., Naumova, L.I., Milyaev, M.A. et al. Noncollinear Magnetic Order in a Dysprosium Layer and Magnetotransport Properties of a Spin Valve Containing the CoFe/Dy/CoFe Structure. Phys. Metals Metallogr. 121, 624–630 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031918X20070121
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031918X20070121