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Toward Flexible Spintronics: Perpendicularly Magnetized Synthetic Antiferromagnetic Thin Films and Nanowires on Polyimide Substrates

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


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Authors

Vemulkar, T 
Fernández-Pacheco, A 
Cowburn, RP 

Abstract

jats:pThe successful fabrication of ultra‐thin films of CoFeB/Pt with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and antiferromagnetic interfacial interlayer coupling on flexible polyimide substrates is demonstrated. Despite an increased surface roughness and defect density on the polyimide substrate, magnetic single layers of CoFeB still show sharp coercive switching. Magnetic Kerr imaging shows that the magnetization reversal is dominated by a greater density of nucleation sites than the identical film grown on Si. These layers maintain their magnetic characteristics down to a radius of curvature of 350 ± µm. Further, antiferromagnetically (AF) Ruderman‐Kittel‐Kasuya‐Yoshida (RKKY) coupled bilayers of CoFeB were fabricated which are robust under bending and the coupling strength is successfully modulated via interlayer engineering. Finally, a perpendicular synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) thin film grown on a polyimide substrate is patterned into straight 10 µm long nanowires down to 210 nm in width that displayed the robust switching characteristics of the thin film. These are extremely promising results for the fabrication of robust, flexible, magneto‐electronic, non‐volatile memory, logic, and sensor devices.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

flexible spintronics, perpendicular anisotropy, RKKY coupling, nanowires

Journal Title

Advanced Functional Materials

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1616-301X
1616-3028

Volume Title

26

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/M008517/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/G037221/1)
European Research Council (247368)
This research is funded by the European Community under the Seventh Framework Program ERC Contract No. 247368: 3SPIN, the EPSRC Early Career Fellowship EP/M008517/1, a Winton Fellowship, EMRP JRP EXL04 SpinCal where the EMRP is jointly funded by the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the EU, and the EPSRC Cambridge NanoDTC, EP/G037221/1.