Magnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial films of iron
Ultrathin Fe films epitaxially grown on Cu(100), Au(100), Pd(100), and Ru(0001) substrates are used to study monolayers magnetism, surface magnetic anisotropy and two-dimensional (2D) critical behavior, by means of in-situ surface magneto-optical Kerr-effect measurements. Epitaxial structures and growth modes are characterized by auxiliary low-energy electron diffraction and Auger electron studies. The magnetic properties of the films depend on the growth temperature. For 100-K growth, all films exhibit a universal behavior of perpendicular spin orientations in the monolayer regime, while for 300-K growth, Fe/Pd(100) and Fe/Au(100) have in-plane easy-axis of magnetization for all thicknesses. Fe/Ru(0001) lacks a ferromagnetic response for thickness less than two monolayers (ML). Fe/Pd(100) has remarkable thermal stability in the monolayer and submonolayer range. Reversible magnetization data are obtained for 0.6 to 3.0-ML-thick films, which show second-order phase transitions at thickness-dependent Curie temperatures ({Tc}). An effective magnetization exponent {beta}{sub eff} of 0.127 {plus minus} 0.004 is obtained for a 1.2-ML Fe/Pd(100) film, agreement with the theoretical value of {beta}{sub c} = 0.125 for an ideal 2D Ising model. The {Tc} trend with film thickness for Fe/Pd(100) is also in agreement with Monte-Carlo calculations for Ising films.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/ER
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 6599246
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-900577-2; ON: DE90017861
- Resource Relation:
- Journal Volume: 93; Conference: Symposium on surface processing and laser assisted chemistry in conjunction with the spring meeting of the European Materials Research Society, Strasbourg (France), 29 May - 1 Jun 1990
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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