Strain-induced magnetic anisotropies in Co films on Mo(110)

Structure and electronic properties of ultrathin Co films on W(110)

Abstract The structure and electronic properties of ultrathin Co films on W(1 1 0) grown by molecular beam epitaxy in UHV were investigated by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS). For coverages above 0.7 ML the pseudomorphic (ps) monolayer is transformed gradually into close-packed (cp-) monolayer areas, showing up as separated islands that increase in size with coverage until the cp-monolayer is complete. Two different structures of the cp-monolayer were observed by atomically resolved STM, both leading to a 8 × 1 superstructure in the LEED pattern. Higher coverages continue to grow in the Stransky–Krastanov growth mode fo…

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Co-Fe Binary Alloy Monolayers on W(110)

We present an experimental investigation of ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{o}}_{x}{\mathrm{F}\mathrm{e}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}$ monolayers grown on flat and stepped W(110) surfaces. Atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction reveal continuous miscibility and pseudomorphic growth of Co and Fe for $0\ensuremath{\le}xl0.6$. We observe short range ordered ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{F}\mathrm{e}}_{3}$-$p(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2)$ and CoFe-$c(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2)$ structures in the pseudomorphic monolayer. High Co concentrations lead to a phase separation. The Curie temperature and the ferromagnetic Kerr signal at low temperatures decr…

Atomic-scale magnetic domain walls in quasi-one-dimensional Fe nanostripes.

Fe nanostripes on W(110) are investigated by Kerr magnetometry and spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM). An Arrhenius law is observed for the temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility indicating a one-dimensional magnetic behavior. The activation energy for creating antiparallel spin blocks indicates extremely narrow domain walls with a width on a length scale of the lattice constant. This is confirmed by imaging the domain wall by SP-STM. This information allows the quantification of the exchange stiffness and the anisotropy constant.

Heteroeptiaxial growth of alloy monolayers on W(110)

Abstract We studied the initial growth of Co 1 - x Fe x films on W(1 1 0) using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM and STS), in combination with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). For Co-rich alloys the deposition at room temperature followed by high-temperature annealing is not equivalent to the deposition at high substrate temperatures, in contrast to the case of Fe-rich alloys. While room temperature deposition results in a structure consisting of small islands even after annealing, deposition at high substrate temperatures leads to large coalesced areas. Sequential deposition of pure Co and pure Fe results in phase separated areas of Co- and Fe-rich areas. Only, in…

Magnetic and structural investigations of ultra-thin Co–Fe alloy films on W(1 1 0)

Abstract We investigated ultra-thin CoxFe1−x films on a flat and vicinal BCC W(1 1 0) surface with thicknesses between 1.8 and 7 monolayers (ML) using longitudinal Kerr magnetometry. We found a transition from magnetic bulk behavior between 3 and 4 ML to the monolayer. The maximum of the remnant Kerr signal that appears for thicker films at x=0.5 turns into a minimum for a sample thickness below 4 ML , while the specific Kerr-rotation per monolayer shows the well known bulk behavior. A similar magnetic behavior on the flat as well as on the stepped part of the substrate indicates that this is an intrinsic property. For x=0.5 the pseudomorphic monolayer is paramagnetic even when it is covere…

Oxidation-driven changes of the in-plane magnetic surface anisotropies of the Fe(110)/Al interface

Abstract Thin epitaxial iron films grown on W(1 1 0) were covered by ultrathin epitaxial aluminium layers of varying thicknesses from 0.2 to 0.6 nm and subsequently naturally oxidized in situ with oxygen exposures up to 150 L. Correlations between the oxidation states of the Al covers and changes of the in-plane magnetic anisotropies at the Fe(1 1 0)/Al interface were discussed on the basis of results from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr magnetometry measurements. The Al coverage decreases the second-order in-plane surface anisotropy of the Fe(1 1 0) surface. Whereas for the thinnest Al covers, the second-order in-plane magnetic surface anisotropy decr…

Lateral indirect exchange coupling in a two-dimensional nanostripe array

We observe a lateral indirect exchange coupling in a multistripe system of parallel Fe nanostripes grown by self-organized growth on a vicinal single-crystal W(110) surface. The width and the distance between the stripes of monolayer height were modified via the total amount of deposited Fe. The easy axis of the magnetization lies perpendicular to the stripe edges and in the surface plane, thus resulting in a ferromagnetic dipolar coupling. In addition to the dipolar coupling we observe an antiferromagnetic indirect exchange coupling for the nanostripe system covered by Au. The coupling causes a superferromagnetic phase transition in the nanostripe array.

Domain wall energy in quasi-one-dimensional Fe/W(110) nanostripes

The magnetic susceptibility in Fe/W(110) nanostripes decreases exponentially with increasing temperature according to an Arrhenius law which indicates a quasi-one-dimensional behavior. The interface energy of the Arrhenius law corresponds to the domain wall energy of a domain wall across a single stripe, separating fluctuating regions of homogeneous magnetization. The domain wall energy increases linearly with the width of the stripes, revealing a negative offset which we attribute to boundary effects. Domain wall energies have been determined for Fe/W(110) nanostripes coated with Au and Pd and are compared to values for uncoated Fe/W(110) nanostripes in ultrahigh vacuum.

Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of pseudomorphic CrFe nanostripes on W(110)

We have grown pseudomorphic binary ${\mathrm{Cr}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{x}$ alloy monolayers and sequences of Cr and Fe nanostripes on W(110) by molecular-beam epitaxy in ultrahigh vacuum. By coadsorption of Cr and Fe a pseudomorphic random CrFe alloy grows on the W(110) substrate. At a substrate temperature of $700\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ the CrFe alloy forms monolayer stripes in the step flow growth mode. We have measured magnetic properties of the monolayer alloy for $0.75\ensuremath{\leqslant}x\ensuremath{\leqslant}1$ using Kerr magnetometry. At a constant relative temperature $t=T∕{T}_{C}$ the saturation value of the Kerr rotation shows a maximum at $x=0.95$ an…

Heteroepitaxial growth of Co on W(110) investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy

We investigated the growth of Co submonolayers on bcc W(110) by scanning tunneling microscopy. Due to the strong Co-W bonding, monolayers of Co grow in equilibrium pseudomorphically on W(110) until the monolayer is almost completed. When excess atoms are deposited atop the pseudomorphic monolayer, it transforms to a close-packed (cp) monolayer with misfit dislocation lines parallel to $[11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0]$ (Nishiyama-Wassermann orientation). The structure of the cp monolayer, as concluded from atomically resolved STM images, deviates from the rigid hard-sphere model of a cp (111) layer. Details of the structure are compared to a structure model previously proposed by…