Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spin Polarization Asymmetry At The Surface Of Chromia, Shi Cao, Xin Zhang, Ning Wu, A T. N'Diaye, G Chen, A K. Schmid, Xumin Chen, W Echtenkamp, Axel Enders, Christian Binek, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

We demonstrate boundary spin polarization at the surface of a Cr₂O₃ single crystal using spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy (SPLEEM), complementing prior spin polarized photoemission, spin polarized inverse photoemission, and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy measurements. This work shows that placing a Cr₂O₃ single crystal into a single domain state will result in net Cr₂O₃ spin polarization at the boundary, even in the presence of a gold overlayer. There are indications that the SPLEEM contrast for the two polarization states may be different, consistent with scanning tunneling microscopy spectroscopy results …