The effect of orthogonal exchange coupling between antiferromagnetic CoO and ferromagnetic Ni/Pd(001) on the perpendicular anisotropy of Ni films is studied. The thickness range in which Ni films show a perpendicular easy magnetization axis is extended by growing CoO on top of them, however, only at temperatures below $T_N$ of CoO. The perpendicular orientation of Ni spins and the in-plane orientation of CoO spins are confirmed by the magneto-optic Kerr effect/x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and x-ray magnetic linear dichroism, respectively. Additionally, a perpendicular exchange bias shows up at low temperature.

We investigate the use of ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Zn}}_x{\mathrm{Fe}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_4$ ferrites ($0.60<x<0.76$) as potential sensors for magnetic-resonance-imaging thermometry. Samples are prepared by a standard ceramic technique. Their structural and magnetic properties are determined using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, superconducting quantum-interference device magnetometry, and Mössbauer and 3-T nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopies. We use the mass magnetization of powdered ferrites and transverse relaxivity $r_2^{*}$ of water protons in Ringer’s-solution-based agar gels with embedded micron-sized particles to determine the best composition for magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) temperature sensors in the (280–323)-K range. A preclinical 3-T MRI scanner is employed to acquire $T_2^{*}$ weighted temperature-dependent images. The brightness of the MRI images is cross-correlated with the temperature of the phantoms, which allows for a temperature determination with approximately $1°\mathrm{C}$ accuracy. We determine that the composition of $0.65<x<0.70$ is the most suitable for MRI thermometry near human body temperature.

It is demonstrated that ternary Cu–Fe–S nanocrystals differing in composition (from Cu-rich to Fe-rich), structure (chalcopyrite or high bornite) and size can be obtained from a mixture of CuCl, FeCl₃, thiourea and oleic acid (OA) in oleylamine (OLA) using the heating up procedure. This new preparation method yields the smallest Cu–Fe–S nanocrystals ever reported to date (1.5 nm for the high bornite structure and 2.7 nm for the chalcopyrite structure). A comparative study of nanocrystals of the same composition (Cu_1.6Fe_1.0S_2.0) but different in size (2.7 nm and 9.3 nm) revealed a pronounced quantum confinement effect, confirmed by three different techniques: UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The optical band gap increased from 0.60 eV in the bulk material to 0.69 eV in the nanocrystals of 9.3 nm size and to 1.39 eV in nanocrystals of 2.7 nm size. The same trend was observed in the electrochemical band gaps, derived from cyclic voltammetry studies (band gaps of 0.74 eV and 1.54 eV). The quantum effect was also manifested in Mössbauer spectroscopy by an abrupt change in the spectrum from a quadrupole doublet to a Zeeman sextet below 10 K, which could be interpreted in terms of the well defined energy states in these nanoparticles, resulting from quantum confinement. The Mössbauer spectroscopic data confirmed, in addition to the results of XPS spectroscopy, the co-existence of Fe(III) and Fe(II) in the synthesized nanocrystals. The organic shell composition was investigated by NMR (after dissolution of the inorganic core) and IR spectroscopy. Both methods identified oleylamine (OLA) and 1-octadecene (ODE) as surfacial ligands, the latter being formed in situ via an elimination–hydrogenation reaction occurring between OLA and the nanocrystal surface.

The influence of a gate voltage on magnetic anisotropy is investigated in a thin Fe film epitaxially grown on a Ag(1,1,10) substrate and covered by MgO. Oscillations in step-induced magnetic anisotropy due to quantum well states (QWS) confined in the Fe film are observed and shown to persist up to room temperature at low Fe thicknesses. By systematically examining the voltage and thickness dependence of the magnetic hysteresis loop characteristics, we identify two distinct effects by which an applied voltage modifies the magnetic anisotropy. The first effect is due to voltage-induced changes to interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy which, due to the vicinal geometry, leads to changes in the effective in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. A second effect is observed at lower film thicknesses and shows nonmonotonic voltage-induced effects on magnetic anisotropy. This nonmonotonic behavior coincides with the onset of significant QWS-induced effects on magnetic anisotropy and suggests a link between QWS- and voltage-induced anisotropy changes.

Superparamagnetic ferrite nanoparticles coated with a polymer layer are widely used for biomedical applications. The objective of this work is to design nanoparticles as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) temperature-sensitive contrast agent. Copper-zinc ferrite nanoparticles coated with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) layer are synthesized using a one-step thermal decomposition method in a polymer matrix. The resulting nanoparticles are stable in water and biocompatible. Using Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetometry, it was determined that the grown nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic properties. Embedding these particles into an agarose gel resulted in significant modification of water proton relaxation times T ₁, T ₂, and T ₂* determined by nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. The results of the spin-echo T ₂-weighted MR images of an aqueous phantom with embedded Cu_0.08Zn_0.54Fe_2.38O₄ nanoparticles in the presence of a strong temperature gradient show a strong correlation between the temperature and the image intensity. The presented results support the hypothesis that CuZn ferrite nanoparticles can be used as a contrast agent for MRI thermometry.

This article describes the static, dynamic, and temperature dependent magneto‐transport properties of the Fe/BTO/LSMO mutliferroic tunnel junction (MFTJ). The multilayer structure is grown on a high quality crystalline STO substrate by means of pulsed laser deposition, which enables epitaxial layer‐by‐layer growth. The MFTJ is patterned into micrometer‐size devices by means of the ion‐etching‐free lithography process ensuring that the properties of the oxide layers are preserved after the device fabrication. The measured static properties indicate that the MFTJ has multiferroic properties at room temperature with the tunneling electroresistance (TER) and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) reaching 270% and 0.4%, respectively. The temperature measurements indicate the exponentially decreasing dependence of TMR with increasing temperature, whereas TER is temperature independent. The electric ferromagnetic resonance measurements based on the spin‐diode effect shows the existence of two resonance peaks, from both ferromagentic electrodes, one identified as LSMO‐derived and characterized by low magnetization damping of α = 0.002 and the other from the Fe.