Magnetic manipulation in Dy/Tb multilayer upon electron-irradiation

Manipulation and control of defects triggered by an electron beam allow us to conduct defect engineering on layered materials. We investigate topologically stable helices within a [Dy(10 nm)/Tb(10 nm)](30) multilayer subjected to MeV electron(e)-irradiation up to a maximum fluence of 9.58 x 10(18) e/cm(2). As electrons can go through the sample homogeneously and with high penetration depth, they produce defects without doping. Our e-irradiation results indicate defect induced magnetic manipulation, which increases the blocking/freezing temperature of spin-frustrated interfaces by 4%. This increase implies an increase in the spin-cluster volume. Consequently, the reduced uncompensated pinning centres decrease the interfacial exchange bias coupling by 45%. Direct manipulation of pinning centres would thereby allow us to tailor spintronic devices in a clean way.

Automated summary

Manipulation and control of defects using an electron beam allows for defect engineering in layered materials. We investigated topologically stable helices in a [Dy(10 nm)/Tb(10 nm)](30) multilayer under MeV electron irradiation up to a maximum fluence of 9.58 x 10(18) e/cm(2). The electron irradiation resulted in defect-induced magnetic manipulation, increasing the blocking/freezing temperature of spin-frustrated interfaces by 4% and reducing the interfacial exchange bias coupling by 45%. This presents the opportunity to tailor spintronic devices through direct manipulation of pinning centers.