The europium chalcogenides (EuO, EuS, EuSe and EuTe) have long been known for their simple rock-salt structure as well as their rich magnetic and magneto-optic properties. They are also wide-bandgap semiconductors that, in combination with their magnetism, makes them potentially interesting for spintronic applications. As for most ferromagnetic semiconductors, however, ensuring they remain magnetic up to room temperature is a stumbling block. Spiridon Pappas et al. now present a possible way for achieving this. The trick is to take advantage of their polarizability in proximity to a ferromagnet. By fabricating multilayers consisting of cobalt and EuS they observe, by means of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, a significant magnetic signal associated with the europium ions at room temperature. The magnetic response is a direct signature of substantial spin-polarization in the EuS, and suggests manipulating both the electron spin and its charge may be feasible in these materials in the future.
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Taroni, A. Polarizing europium. Nature Mater 12, 282 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3617
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3617