Enhanced anisotropy and study of magnetization reversal in Co/C60 bilayer thin film

Abstract

The interface between organic semiconductor [OSC]/ferromagnetic [FM] material can exhibit ferromagnetism due to their orbital hybridization. Charge/spin transfer may occur from FM to OSC layer leading to the formation of `spinterface' i.e. the interface exhibiting a finite magnetic moment. In this work, the magnetic properties of Co/C$_{60}$ bilayer thin film have been studied to probe the interface between Co and C$_{60}$ layer. Polarized neutron reflectivity [PNR] measurement indicates that the thickness and moment of the spinterface are $\sim$ 2 $\pm$ 0.18 nm and 0.8 $\pm$ 0.2 $\mu_B$/cage, respectively. The comparison of the magnetization reversal between the Co/C$_{60}$ bilayer and the parent single layer Co thin film reveals that spinterface modifies the domain microstructure. Further, the anisotropy of the bilayer system shows a significant enhancement ($\sim$ two times) in comparison to its single layer counterpart which is probably due to an additional interfacial anisotropy arising from the orbital hybridization at the Co/C$_{60}$ interface.