Investigation of magnetic order in nickel-5d transition metal systems

Abstract: Double perovskite materials exhibit alterations in magnetic order through manipulation oftheir crystal structure. Certain ultra thin metallic bilayers can create an exotic magnetic stateof confined spin textures called skyrmions. In both cases, new atomic arrangements leadto new electrical and magnetic properties. The following work comprises two studies, bothof which examine the magnetic properties of transition metals in either powder or thin filmsamples. The first part is dedicated to a series of muon spin rotation and relaxation (muSR)experiments on a LaSrNiReO6, double perovskite, powder sample. In the muSR technique, aspin polarized muon beam is focused onto a powder envelope in low pressure and temperatureconditions. The spins of the implanted muons evolve depending on the intrinsic or externallyapplied magnetic field according to Larmor precession. The measurement is based onthe detection of decay positrons that carry this precession information on their preferreddecay directions. Measurements that were realized in wTF, ZF and LF setups, reveal asecond transition to magnetic order at Tc ≃ 22K, below a transition that was observed at T =261K from magnetic susceptibility measurements. The experimental results point to threemagnetic phases, paramagnetic for T > 261K, dilute ferrimagnetic for 22 < T < 261K and amagnetically ordered state for T < 22K, that may implicate ferro- and antiferromagnetismfrom Ni sublattices and Ni-Re interactions. The second part follows an attempt to produce and characterize ultra thin bilayer filmsfor the observation of interfacial chiral structures and skyrmions. Co/Fe/MgO (100) andW/Ni/Cu (100) bilayers were grown with magnetron sputter deposition in various layerthicknesses and their structure was determined by X-ray reflectometry (XRR). The XRRscans presented a relatively thick-layered Co/Fe/MgO film, while extremely thin and roughW/Ni/Cu bilayers, for the purposes of studying films with broken interfacial inversionsymmetry. This study was concluded with indicative magneto-transport measurements thatalso point to the reconfiguration of the growth procedure.