Oscillations of Negative Polarization in Secondary Electrons Emitted from Au/Fe(110)

Abstract

To study the oscillatory interlayer magnetic coupling through epitaxial Au thin films, we investigated the polarization oscillation of secondary electrons emitted from a Au(111)/Fe(110) surface. Comparing the polarization of secondary electrons as a function of the Au thickness for Au(111)/Fe(110) and for Au(001)/Fe(001), we found that the polarization of conduction electrons in Au(111) thin films always oscillates with negative polarity. This result shows that the density of quantum-well states for the majority-spin electrons is lower than that for the minority-spin ones independent of the Au film thickness.