Abstract
We investigate the magnetic properties of CoO(111)/permalloy(111) interfaces by ab-initio calculations. We employ a (5 x 5) CoO/(6 x 6) permalloy supercell, to satisfy the similar to 5:6 ratio of the lattice constants, and optimize the atomic density near the interface. While experimentally the interface magnetization is 14% higher than in the bulk, we find for the purely O/Co-terminated interface a decrease/increase by 140%/40%, which enables insight into the real interface with partial O deficiency and atomic intermixing. Intermixing between Fe and Ni significantly lowers the total energy, which promotes Fe accumulation at the interface. Since Co-O bonds are energetically favorable, O diffusion into the permalloy is suppressed. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.