Atomic-scale structure and properties of highly stable antiphase boundary defects in Fe3O4

被引：119

作者：

McKenna, Keith P. ^{[1
,2
]}

Hofer, Florian ^{[1
]}

Gilks, Daniel ^{[1
]}

Lazarov, Vlado K. ^{[1
]}

Chen, Chunlin ^{[2
]}

Wang, Zhongchang ^{[2
]}

Ikuhara, Yuichi ^{[2
]}

机构：

[1] Univ York, Dept Phys, York YO10 5DD, N Yorkshire, England

[2] Tohoku Univ, WPI AIMR, Aoba Ku, Sendai, Miyagi 9808577, Japan

来源：

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 2014年 / 5卷

基金：

英国工程与自然科学研究理事会;

关键词：

TOTAL-ENERGY CALCULATIONS; VERWEY TRANSITION; MAGNETITE; CRYSTAL;

D O I：

10.1038/ncomms6740

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;

摘要：

The complex and intriguing properties of the ferrimagnetic half metal magnetite (Fe3O4) are of continuing fundamental interest as well as being important for practical applications in spintronics, magnetism, catalysis and medicine. There is considerable speculation concerning the role of the ubiquitous antiphase boundary (APB) defects in magnetite, however, direct information on their structure and properties has remained challenging to obtain. Here we combine predictive first principles modelling with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to unambiguously determine the three-dimensional structure of APBs in magnetite. We demonstrate that APB defects on the {110} planes are unusually stable and induce antiferromagnetic coupling between adjacent domains providing an explanation for the magnetoresistance and reduced spin polarization often observed. We also demonstrate how the high stability of the {110} APB defects is connected to the existence of a metastable bulk phase of Fe3O4, which could be stabilized by strain in films or nanostructures.

引用

页数：8

共 47 条

[1] Electronic structure near an antiphase boundary in magnetite [J].