Mapping Magnetization Orientation within Compositionally Graded GdCoFe Ferrimagnetic Thin Films for Spintronic Applications [dataset]

Compositionally-graded amorphous rare earth (RE):transition metal (TM) ferrimagnetic thin films offer exciting po-tential for enabling field-free spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching in spintronic devices. Vertical compositional gradients have been developed to enhance SOT efficiency via a proposed transition from out-of-plane (OOP) to in-plane (IP)magnetization to induce Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) that breaks inversion symmetry within the layer. Here, the magnetization orientations within compositionally-graded GdCoFe layers were directly mapped by probing the depth-dependent magnetization using X-ray and neutron reflectivity techniques. Gd-specific IP magnetization was determined via X-ray magnetic resonant reflectivity (XRMR), providing contrast between IP and OOP magnetization zones. Polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR) was used to determine the net magnetization profile through a layer, distinguishing regions of IP and OOP magnetization and revealing the magnetization compensation point within the GdCoFe layer. These results give the spatial distribution of magnetization and hence the anisotropy, essential for understanding and optimizing field-free SOT switching.