On the influence of nanometer-thin antiferromagnetic surface layer on ferromagnetic CrO2

Abstract

We investigate the influence of naturally grown 2–5 nm thin surface layer of antiferromagnetic (AFM) Cr2O3 on the half metallic ferromagnet CrO2 by measuring the magnetic behavior of a single micro-crystal. The temperature variation of the magnetic stray fields of the micro-crystal measured by micro-Hall magnetometry shows an anomalous increase below ∼60 K. We find clear evidence that this behavior is due to the influence of the AFM surface layer. The average amplitude of the Barkahausen jumps exhibits a similar temperature dependence indicating that the AFM surface layer plays a role in defining the potential landscape seen by the domain configuration in the ferromagnetic grain.