Temperature Dependence of the Surface Anisotropy of Fe Ultrathin Films on Cu(001)

Authors

Axel Enders, University of Nebraska at LincolnFollow
D. Peterka, Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung
D. Repetto, Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung
N. Lin, Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung
Ivan Dmitriev, Max-Planck-Institut für FestkörperforschungFollow
Klaus Kern, Max-Planck-Institut für FestkörperforschungFollow

Date of this Version

2003

Comments

Published in Physical Review Letters Volume 90, Number 12. Copyright © 2003 The American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

We report an experimental approach to separate temperature dependent reversible and irreversible contributions to the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Fe films grown at low temperatures on Cu(001) substrates. The surface anisotropy K_S(T) is found to decrease linearly with temperature, causing a thermally induced spin reorientation into the plane. The irreversible shift of the spin reorientation transition and the coercivity of the iron films are directly correlated to the increasing Fe island size during annealing. The increased coercivity is discussed in terms of domain wall energy inhomogeneities provided by the islands.