Browsing by Author "Müller, A"

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    Local magnetic structure at the Fe3O4/ZnO interface
    (Australian Institute of Physics, 2012-02-01) Brück, S; Paul, M; Tian, H; Müller, A; Fauth, K; Goering, E; Verbeeck, J; Van Tendeloo, G; Claessen, R
    Magnetite, Fe3O4, is a half-metal with 100% spin polarization of the minority band at the Fermi level. This together with its good conductivity match to standard semiconductors makes it a promising candidate for polarized spin injection into semiconductor materials such as Si, GaAs, or ZnO [1]. An important aspect for such applications is the magnetism directly at the interface between Fe3O4 and the semiconductor. Soft x-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry is a technique which is capable of providing structural and magnetic depth profiles with 0.1nm resolution. We present a detailed XRMR and electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM/EELS) study of an epitaxial Fe3O4 thin film grown directly on a semiconducting ZnO substrate [2]. Consistent chemical profiles at the interface between ZnO and Fe3O4 are found from XRMR and EELS. The magnetic depth profile of tetragonal Fe3+ and octahedral Fe2+ ions in Fe3O4 is derived with monolayer resolution and reveals a change in the Fe stoichiometry directly at the interface.