Magnetic-field-dependent morphology of self-organized Fe on stepped Si(111) surfaces
- Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Seropedica, 23890-000 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, 91501-970 Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
The present work reports on Fe thin films grown on vicinal Si(111) substrates via rf magnetron sputtering. The dependencies of the growth mode and magnetic properties of the obtained iron nanostructures on both crystallographic surface orientation and on the direction of the very weak stray magnetic field from the magnetron gun were studied. Scanning tunneling microscopy images showed strong dependence of the Fe grains' orientation on the stray field direction in relation to the substrate's steps demonstrating that, under appropriately directed magnetic field, Si surfaces can be used as templates for well-defined self-assembled iron nanostructures. Magneto-optical Kerr effect hysteresis loops showed an easy-axis coercivity almost one order of magnitude smaller for the film deposited with stray field applied along the steps, accompanied with a change in the magnetization reversal mode. Phenomenological models involving coherent rotation and/or domain-wall unpinning were used for the interpretation of these results.
- OSTI ID:
- 21359328
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 106, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3172926; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COERCIVE FORCE
CRYSTAL GROWTH
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
DEPOSITION
GRAIN ORIENTATION
HYSTERESIS
IRON
KERR EFFECT
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
MAGNETIZATION
MAGNETO-OPTICAL EFFECTS
MAGNETRONS
MORPHOLOGY
NANOSTRUCTURES
SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY
SILICON
SPUTTERING
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTRON TUBES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FILMS
METALS
MICROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
MICROWAVE TUBES
ORIENTATION
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SEMIMETALS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS