Epitaxy and magnetic properties of fcc cobalt films on Cu(100)

Abstract

The epitaxial growth of fcc cobalt films on top of a Cu(100) substrate has been investigated by a variety of methods including Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Medium Energy Electron Diffraction (MEED) and Thermal Energy Atom Scattering (TEAS). In a simultaneous AES/MEED experiment the growth mode was determined to be of the Frank-v.d. Merwe type. The magnetic properties of these films have been studied in situ by means of the Surface Magneto Optical Kerr Effect (SMOKE). We observed a strong thickness dependence of the Curie temperature leading to T c ≈ 300 K for a cobalt coverage of 2 atomic layers. The orientation of the magnetic moments, which was always found to be within the film plane, shows a distinctive in-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In fcc cobalt films with a thickness of more than 3 monolayers we identified the 〈110〉 directions as the easy axes of magnetization.