Article abstract
Nature Materials 5, 477 - 481 (2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1646
Subject Categories: Magnetic materials | Nanoscale materials | Surface and thin films
Atomic spin structure of antiferromagnetic domain walls
M. Bode, E. Y. Vedmedenko, K. von Bergmann, A. Kubetzka, P. Ferriani, S. Heinze and R. Wiesendanger
Abstract
The search for uncompensated magnetic moments on antiferromagnetic surfaces is of great technological importance as they are responsible for the exchange-bias effect that is widely used in state-of-the-art magnetic storage devices. We have studied the atomic spin structure of phase domain walls in the antiferromagnetic Fe monolayer on W(001) by means of spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations. The domain wall width only amounts to 6–8 atomic rows. Although walls oriented along 
100
directions are found to be fully compensated, detailed analysis of 110-oriented walls reveals an uncompensated perpendicular magnetic moment. Our result represents a major advance in the field of antiferromagnetism, and may lead to a better understanding of the magnetic interaction between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials.
- Institute of Applied Physics and Microstructure Research Center, University of Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
Correspondence to: M. Bode e-mail: mbode@physnet.uni-hamburg.de
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