Strain-induced nonequilibrium magnetoelastic domain structure and spin reorientation of NiO(100)

Abstract

We report the observation of strain-induced antiferromagnetic domain structure on cleaved surface of NiO single crystal. This nonequilibrium domain structure undergoes various spin reorientations (from in plane to different in plane, out of plane to in plane) after mild annealing, indicating a direct correlation between the surface strain field and domain morphology. These reorientations are found to be driven by structural modification on the surface generated by cleaving process and buried dislocations, altering the surface magnetic anisotropy and their relaxation through mild annealing. These observations establish that the magnetoelastic effect plays a dominant role in determining antiferromagnetic domain structure.