Elucidation of orbital moment, anisotropy, and magnetic damping in epitaxial <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mi>Fe</mml:mi><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:msub><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math> films

Abstract

Fe${}_{3}$O${}_{4}$, the archetypal half metal, is one of the most studied magnetic materials to date, yet still the cause of intense debate regarding its physical characteristics. One particular property, the magnitude of the orbital moment, has been contested for over a decade with previous works measuring either a vanishingly small or a large orbital moment. Using complementary spectroscopic techniques, the authors demonstrate here that a finite orbital moment exists in Fe${}_{3}$O${}_{4}$, in addition to observing the interplay between defects, anisotropy, and magnetic damping.

Topics & Concepts