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Front Cover (Phys. Status Solidi A 8/2010)
Author(s) -
Schaarschuch R.,
Reibold M.,
Haindl S.,
Neu V.,
Thomas J.,
Gemming T.,
Oertel C.G.,
Holzapfel B.,
Schultz L.,
Skrotzki W.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201090017
Subject(s) - high resolution transmission electron microscopy , superconductivity , ferromagnetism , materials science , condensed matter physics , pulsed laser deposition , epitaxy , transmission electron microscopy , microstructure , coercivity , thin film , layer (electronics) , nanotechnology , composite material , physics
The Editor's Choice article by Schaarschuch et al. ( pp. 1785–1791 in this issue) centers around hybrid structures based on superconducting Nb and highly coercive ferromagnetic SmCo 5 films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition. Such structures are interesting from the point of interplay between ferromagnetic and superconductor phases in close vicinity and from the point of growth behaviour for thin film heterostructures. Thus, by varying the thickness of a Cr spacer layer between superconductor and ferromagnet, the actual stray field strength on the superconductor can be controlled. Thin film architectures of both SmCo 5 on Nb and the reversed system were examined by transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction with regard to their microstructure and epitaxial relationship, respectively. The cover image shows the cross‐sectional HRTEM image (left) and the colour coded EFTEM image (right) of a Nb/Cr/SmCo 5 layer system with a nominal 5 nm Cr spacer layer between superconductor and ferromagnet.