Structural anisotropy in amorphous Fe-Tb thin films
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-2205 (United States)
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94309 (United States)
- Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6118 (United States)
We have used conventional and anomalous dispersion x-ray scattering to study the near-neighbor atomic environments in sputter-deposited amorphous Fe-Tb thin films with a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The as-deposited films show a clear structural anisotropy, with more Fe-Tb near neighbor pairs in the out-of-plane direction. Upon annealing, the magnetic anisotropy drops significantly, and we see a corresponding reduction in the structural anisotropy. The number of Fe-Tb near-neighbors increases in the in-plane direction, but does not change in the out-of-plane direction. Therefore, the distribution of Fe-Tb near neighbors becomes more uniform upon annealing. We conclude that the observed reduction in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy energy is a result of this change in structure. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00515; AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 283895
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter, Vol. 53, Issue 18; Other Information: PBD: May 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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