Magnetic anisotropies in ultrathin iron films grown on the surface-reconstructed GaAs substrate

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Aktas B., Heinrich B., Woltersdorf G., Urban R., Tagirov L. R., Yildiz F., ...More

JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, vol.102, no.1, 2007 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 102 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2007
  • Doi Number: 10.1063/1.2749469
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Magnetic anisotropies of epitaxial ultrathin iron films grown on the surface-reconstructed GaAs substrate were studied. Ferromagnetic resonance technique was exploited to determine magnetic parameters of the films in the temperature range of 4-300 K. Extraordinary angular dependence of the FMR spectra was explained by the presence of fourfold and twofold in-plane anisotropies. A strong in-plane uniaxial anisotropy with magnetic hard axis along the [1 (1) over bar0] crystallographic direction is present at the GaAs/Fe(001) interface while a weak in-plane uniaxial anisotropy for the Fe grown on Au has its easy axis oriented along [1 (1) over bar0]. A linear dependence of the magnetic anisotropies as a function of temperature suggests that the strength of the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is affected by the magnetoelastic anisotropies and differential thermal expansion of contacting materials. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.