Electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of amorphous yttrium iron oxide thin films and consequences for non-local resistance measurements
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2023-06-08
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Citation of Original Publication
Roos, M. J., S. M. Bleser, L. Hernandez, G. M. Diederich, M. E. Siemens, M. Wu, B. J. Kirby, and B. L. Zink. ?Electrical, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Amorphous Yttrium Iron Oxide Thin Films and Consequences for Non-Local Resistance Measurements.? Journal of Applied Physics 133, no. 22 (June 8, 2023): 223901. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0144371.
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract
We present magnetic characterization, charge resistivity, and optical photoluminescence measurements on amorphous yttrium iron oxide thin films ( a-Y?Fe?O), with supporting comparisons to amorphous germanium ( a-Ge) films. We measured magnetic properties with both SQUID magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry. These results not only confirm that a-Y?Fe?O is a disordered magnetic material with strong predominantly antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and a high degree of frustration, but also that it is best understood electrically as a disordered semiconductor. As with amorphous germanium, a-Y?Fe?O obeys expectations for variable-range hopping through localized electron states over a wide range of temperature. We also clarify the consequences of charge transport through such a semiconducting medium for non-local voltage measurements intended to probe spin transport in nominally insulating magnetic materials. We further compare non-local resistance measurements made with ?quasi-dc? automated current reversal to ac measurements made with a lock-in amplifier. These show that the ?quasi-dc? measurement has an effective ac current excitation with frequency up to approximately 22?Hz, and that this effective ac excitation can cause artifacts in these measurements including incorrect sign of the non-local resistance. This comprehensive investigation of non-local resistance measurements in a-Y?Fe?O shows no evidence of spin transport on micrometer length scales, which is contrary to our original work, and in line with more recent investigations by other groups.