Tunneling and charging effects in discontinuous superparamagnetic Ni81Fe19/Al2O3 multilayers

Journal article, 2010

The magnetic and transport properties of films based on discontinuous layers of Ni81Fe19 (Py) embedded in Al2O3 were investigated. In films with nominal Py thicknesses 6 and 8 angstrom superparamagnetic particles with median diameters D-med = 2.8 and 3.1 nm and distribution widths sigma(D)= 1.2 and 1.3 nm were formed. Current voltage (IU) curves were measured with the current perpendicular to the film plane. The analyses show that the charge transport occurs via tunneling; with the charging energy supplied by thermal fluctuations at high temperature, T >= 100 K, and by the electric field at low temperature, T < 10 K. The separation of the two regimes allows independent estimates of the mean charging energy approximate to 40 meV for both samples; from the resistance R versus T analyzed in an effective-medium model at high temperature and from I versus U at 4 K. In order to obtain a consistent description of the transport properties, the size distributions must be included to account for the deviation from the single size behavior R similar to exp(E-C/k(B)T) at high T. The scaling parameter in the relation I proportional to (U/U-th-1)(gamma), where U-th is the threshold for conduction, is estimated to gamma approximate to 2 at 4 K. The superparamagnetic relaxation of the particles becomes blocked below a temperature T approximate to 20 K respective 30 K for 6 and 8 angstrom. The magnetic field (B) dependence of the resistance R(B) displays a single maximum of the ratio MR = [R(B)-R(2 T)]/R(2 T) in zero field at room temperature and a characteristic splitting of the peak at 4 K, attributed to the blocking. The maxima, approximate to 0.9% for 6 angstrom and 1.1% for 8 angstrom, are positioned at fields about a factor of two to three higher than the coercive fields of the samples.