Hydrogen enhanced magnetization and exchange interaction in amorphous (FeCo)0.70Ge0.30-H films

•(FeCo)xGe1–x films with/without hydrogen are prepared by magnetron sputtering.•Magnetism is studied quantitatively by static and dynamic magnetization measurements.•Hydrogen enhances magnetization and exchange interaction in (FeCo)0.70Ge0.30-H films.•Enhanced exchange interaction mediated by both holes and H1s electrons is proposed.

(FeCo)xGe1–x-H and (FeCo)xGe1–x films with high FeCo concentration were prepared by magnetron sputtering, and hydrogen enhanced magnetization and exchange interaction were found by static and dynamic magnetization measurements. The static magnetization measurements demonstrate that the saturation magnetization of (FeCo)0.70Ge0.30-H films is high up to 567 emu/cm3 at room temperature, which is about 170% higher than that of (FeCo)0.70Ge0.30 films. The dynamic magnetization measurements indicate that the exchange interaction in term of spin-wave stiffness constant D is 176.2 meV·Å2 in (FeCo)0.70Ge0.30-H films, which is about 156% larger than that in (FeCo)0.70Ge0.30 films. It is proposed that the hydrogen enhanced exchange interaction is mediated by both holes and H1s electrons in (FeCo)xGe1–x-H films. This may open an alternative way to design new spintronic materials by hydrogen enhancing magnetization and exchange interaction.

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