Electronic and magnetic properties of Gr/Fe/Ir(111) heterostructure*

Coupling Graphene with ferromagnetic systems opens perspectives of efficient injection of spin-polarized electrons in devices. We investigate a well-defined heterostructure constituted by magnetic Fe layers intercalated between graphene (Gr) and Ir(111). Fe-C solubility and Fe-Ir intermixing were avoided by atomic controlled Fe-intercalation at moderate temperature. DFT calculations and ARPES measurements show the redistribution of the electronic states due to the graphene/metal hybridization with a downshift in energy of the Dirac cone and Fe states in the energy region just below the Fermi level. X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism reveals the strong ferromagnetic response of the confined Fe with enhanced spin- and orbital- moments with respect to bcc-Fe bulk. Graphene acts not only as a protective membrane, but also promotes the ferromagnetic order on the Fe layer.