Magnetic circular dichroism in Co 2p photoemission of Co/Cu(1 1 13): Separation of the fundamental spectra

Abstract

We measured high-quality Co 2p magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra in photoemission for > 5 ML Co films grown on Cu(1 1 13) using a “complete” experiment, where the sample magnetization and the light helicity vector were reversed separately. We show how the four measured spectra, M±P±, can be used to make new linear combinations, which correspond to the circular dichroism in the angular dependence (CDAD), magnetic linear dichroism in the angular dependence (MLDAD) and MCD spectra. The integrated signals of the MLDAD and CDAD can be used to estimate the error caused by the difference in the degrees of magnetization and light polarization, respectively, in the opposite alignments. The MCD signal integrated over the entire 2p region does not average to zero, as one would have expected from the sum rule for photoemission to a non-interacting continuum state. There is a strong MCD signal in the entire region between the 2p3/2 and 2p1/2 main lines with pronounced satellite structure. The differences between the measured and calculated results for an independent-particle and an atomic model indicate the presence of interatomic electron correlation effects and configurational mixing.