Finite-Size Effect on Magnetic Ordering Temperatures in Long-Period Antiferromagnets: Holmium Thin Films

E. Weschke, H. Ott, E. Schierle, C. Schüßler-Langeheine, D. V. Vyalikh, G. Kaindl, V. Leiner, M. Ay, T. Schmitte, H. Zabel, and P. J. Jensen

Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 157204 – Published 5 October 2004

Abstract

The thickness dependence of the helical antiferromagnetic ordering temperature $T_{N}$ was studied for thin Ho metal films by resonant magnetic soft x-ray and neutron diffraction. In contrast with the Curie temperature of ferromagnets, $T_{N}$ was found to decrease with film thickness $d$ according to $[T_{N} (\infty) - T_{N} (d)] / T_{N} (d) \propto (d - d_{0})^{- λ^{'}}$ , where $λ^{'}$ is a phenomenological exponent and $d_{0}$ is of the order of the bulk magnetic period $L_{b}$ . These observations are reproduced by mean-field calculations that suggest a linear relationship between $d_{0}$ and $L_{b}$ in long-period antiferromagnets.

Received 21 January 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.157204

Authors & Affiliations

E. Weschke^*, H. Ott, E. Schierle, C. Schüßler-Langeheine^†, D. V. Vyalikh, and G. Kaindl

Institut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

V. Leiner^1,2, M. Ay¹, T. Schmitte¹, and H. Zabel¹

¹Institut für Experimentalphysik/Festkörperphysik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany
²LSS, Institut Laue-Langevin, 38042 Grenoble Cedex, France

P. J. Jensen

Institut für Theoretische Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

^*Corresponding author: eugen.weschke@physik.fu-berlin.de
^†Present Address: II. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Str. 77, D-50937 Köln, Germany.

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Vol. 93, Iss. 15 — 8 October 2004

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