Temperature dependence of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy and projected microscopic magnetic moments in epitaxialCrO2films

Abstract

Soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra and in situ element specific hysteresis loops of epitaxially grown $\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ thin films have been investigated in the temperature range from $25\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}330\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ for two different crystallographic projections. The quantitative temperature dependence of the microscopic magnetic moments (spin, orbital, and magnetic dipole term) and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy give strong evidence for the validity of the models by Bruno and by van der Laan, which describe the generation of the orbital moment and its relation to the magnetic anisotropy energy.