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Spin-resolved unoccupied states of NiCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>thin films

ORAL

Abstract

Theoretical calculations indicate that NiCo2O4 is a half-metal with fully spin polarized carriers [1], although realization of half metallicity is in fact very doubtful [2] especially at finite temperatures. It remains important, nonetheless, to ascertain whether NiCo2O4 is a high polarization material and whether the spin polarization has a projection in the plane of the thin film. We observed in-plane net spin polarized unoccupied states of NiCo2O4 near Fermi level using spin-polarized inverse photoemission spectroscopy (SPIPES) which is an extremely surface sensitive technique. Although NiCo2O4 is thought to possess a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, the presence of in-plane spin-resolved unoccupied states could indicate the influence of the surface on magnetic ordering.

[1] P. F. Ndione et al., Adv. Funct. Mater. 24, 610 (2014).

[2] P.A. Dowben and R. Skomski, J. Appl. Phys. 95, 7453 (2004).

Presenters

  • Arjun Subedi

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Authors

  • Arjun Subedi

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Corbyn D Mellinger

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Takashi Komesu

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Xiaoshan Xu

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Peter A Dowben

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Jorgensen Hall, University of Nebraska, NE 68588, USA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln