Ultrathin Chromia on a Hexagonally-Ordered d Ferromagnet: Evidence of Interfacial Exchange Bias at the CrO/TiO Interface.

Heterostructures consisting of 10 Å thick chromia films and 50 Å thick titania films display significant exchange bias at and above room temperature. Chromia films ∼10 Å thick were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of Cr at room temperature in ultrahigh vacuum on 50 Å thick TiO(111) films ( < 0.3) also deposited epitaxially by MBE on AlO(0001). Cr deposition yields increased Ti(III) formation in the titania substrate and the formation of a CrO overlayer, without Cr/Ti interfacial mixing, as determined by in situ photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). In situ low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and XPS data indicate that the chromia overlayer is hexagonally ordered and ∼10 Å thick. Longitudinal and polar magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements at 285-315 K provide evidence of strong exchange bias between the boundary layer magnetization of chromia and the ferromagnetic substrate. These data demonstrate the robust room-temperature interaction of the boundary layer magnetization of a multiferroic antiferromagnet with a d ferromagnetic substrate.