Following enhanced Sm spin projection in Gd${}_x$Sm${}_{1-x}$N

Abstract

The rare-earth nitrides form a series of structurally simple $intrinsic$ ferromagnetic semiconductors, a rare class of both fundamental interest and application potential. Within the series there is a wide range of magnetic properties relating to the spin/orbit contributions to the ferromagnetic ground states. We report an x-ray magnetic circular dichroism investigation of the spin/orbit magnetic dipole alignments of Sm and Gd ions in epitaxial Gd${}_x$Sm${}_{1-x}$N films. The Sm spin-alignment expectation value $⟨S_z⟩$ is seen to be strengthened by the Gd/Sm exchange interaction, providing guidance concerning the composition for an angular momentum compensation point (where the volume-averaged total angular momentum of a film is zero).

arXiv comment7 Pages, 7 Figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B

References in corpus (6)

• Rare-earth mononitrides
• Near-Zero Moment Ferromagnetism in the Semiconductor SmN
• Spin/orbit moment imbalance in the near-zero moment ferromagnetic semiconductor SmN
• Superconductivity in the ferromagnetic semiconductor SmN
• On the ferromagnetic ground state of SmN
• Twisted phase of the orbital-dominant ferromagnet SmN in a GdN/SmN heterostructure

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Tuneable magnetic behaviour, electronic structure and nitrogen vacancy formation in Gd${}_x$Sm${}_{1-x}$N