2019/08/06 by Henry Hoffmann, Hoffmann, Henry, Eun Sung Jekal +1
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Magnetic Properties and Applications #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic properties of thin films #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1908.04761
openalex publication_date 2019/08/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Ultra-thin film of FeRh on insulator MgO substrate has been investigated usingab-initio electronic structure calculations. From this calculation, we have found the interesting effect of epitaxial strain on the magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA). Analysis of the energy and k-resolved distribution of the orbital character of the band structure reveals that MCA largely arises from the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) between dx2-y2 andd xz,yz orbitals of Fe atoms at the FeRh/MgO interface. We demonstrate that the strain has significant effects on the MCA: It not only affects the value of the MCA but also induces a switching of the magnetic easy axis from perpendicular to in-plane direction. The mechanism is the strain-induced shifts of the SOC d-states. Our work demonstrates that strain engineering can open a viable pathway towards tailoring magnetic properties for antiferromagetic spintronic applications.