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    Control of Positive and Negative Magnetoresistance in Iron Oxide : Iron Nanocomposite Thin Films for Tunable Magnetoelectric Nanodevices
    (2020) Nichterwitz, Martin; Honnali, Shashank; Zehner, Jonas; Schneider, Sebastian; Pohl, Darius; Schiemenz, Sandra; Goennenwein, Sebastian T.B.; Nielsch, Kornelius; Leistner, Karin
    The perspective of energy-efficient and tunable functional magnetic nanostructures has triggered research efforts in the fields of voltage control of magnetism and spintronics. We investigate the magnetotransport properties of nanocomposite iron oxide/iron thin films with a nominal iron thickness of 5-50 nm and find a positive magnetoresistance at small thicknesses. The highest magnetoresistance was found for 30 nm Fe with +1.1% at 3 T. This anomalous behavior is attributed to the presence of Fe3O4-Fe nanocomposite regions due to grain boundary oxidation. At the Fe3O4/Fe interfaces, spin-polarized electrons in the magnetite can be scattered and reoriented. A crossover to negative magnetoresistance (-0.11%) is achieved at a larger thickness (>40 nm) when interface scattering effects become negligible as more current flows through the iron layer. Electrolytic gating of this system induces voltage-triggered redox reactions in the Fe3O4 regions and thereby enables voltage-tuning of the magnetoresistance with the locally oxidized regions as the active tuning elements. In the low-magnetic-field region (<1 T), a crossover from positive to negative magnetoresistance is achieved by a voltage change of only 1.72 V. At 3 T, a relative change of magnetoresistance about -45% during reduction was achieved for the 30 nm Fe sample. The present low-voltage approach signifies a step forward to practical and tunable room-temperature magnetoresistance-based nanodevices, which can boost the development of nanoscale and energy-efficient magnetic field sensors with high sensitivity, magnetic memories, and magnetoelectric devices in general. Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.
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    Voltage-controlled on switching and manipulation of magnetization via the redox transformation of β-FeOOH nanoplatelets
    (Bristol : IOP Publ., 2020) Nichterwitz, Martin; Neitsch, Sabine; Röher, Stefan; Wolf, Daniel; Nielsch, Kornelius; Leistner, Karin
    Redox-based metal/metal oxide transformations achieved via electrolytic gating recently emerged as a novel, magneto-ionic route for voltage control of magnetism. So far, mainly metal or oxide thin films and nanoporous metal alloy structures are used as starting materials. The present study demonstrates a magneto-ionic transformation starting from a stable electrodeposited FeOOH nanoplatelet structure. The application of a low voltage in a Li-based electrolyte results in the reduction of the virtually non-magnetic FeOOH into ferromagnetic Fe, yielding an ON switching of magnetization. The magnetization can be tuned in a large range by the time of voltage application and remains stable after voltage-switch off. A reversible magneto-ionic change of magnetization of up to 15% is achieved in the resulting iron films with a thickness of about 30 nm. This large magneto-ionic effect is attributed to the enhanced roughness of the iron films obtained from the nanoplatelet structure. The robust, voltage-controlled, and non-volatile ON switching of magnetism starting from a stable oxide structure is promising for the development of energy-efficient magnetic switches, magnetic actuation and may offer new avenues in magnetoelectronic devices. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.
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    Voltage-Controlled ON-OFF-Switching of Magnetoresistance in FeOx/Fe/Au Aerogel Networks
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2023) Nichterwitz, Martin; Hiekel, Karl; Wolf, Daniel; Eychmüller, Alexander; Leistner, Karin
    Voltage control of magnetoresistance (MR) in nanoscale three-dimensional (3D) geometries is interesting from a fundamental point of view and a promising route toward novel sensors and energy-efficient computing schemes. Magneto-ionic mechanisms are favorable for low-voltage control of magnetism and room-temperature operation, but magneto-ionic control of MR has been studied only for planar geometries so far. We synthesize a 3D nanomaterial with magneto-ionic functionality by electrodepositing an iron hydroxide/iron coating on a porous nanoscale gold network (aerogel). To enable maximum magneto-ionic ON-OFF-switching, the thickness of the coating is adjusted to a few nanometers by a self-terminating electrodeposition process. In situ magnetotransport measurements during electrolytic gating of these nanostructures reveal large reversible changes in MR, including ON-OFF-switching of MR, with a small applied voltage difference (1.72 V). This effect is related to the electrochemical switching between a ferromagnetic iron shell/gold core nanostructure (negative MR at the reduction voltage) and an iron oxide shell/gold core nanostructure (negligible MR at the oxidation voltage).