Berlin 2005 – scientific programme

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MA: Magnetismus

MA 7: Magnetische dünne Schichten II

MA 7.8: Talk

Friday, March 4, 2005, 17:00–17:15, TU H1012

Spin-reorientation-transitions in Co films on Pd(110) — •L. Yan, M. Przybylski, J. Barthel, and J. Kirschner — Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle

Ultrathin Co films were grown by thermal deposition on an atomically clean and flat surface of Pd(110) and characterized magnetically by means of magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). Immediately after deposition at room temperature (RT) the films are magnetized in plane. Polar MOKE signal appears only after the film is exposed to the residual atmosphere at low temperature. This is most likely due to hydrogen adsorption. With increasing temperature the magnetization rotates back towards the film plane and no polar MOKE signal is again detected at RT. We interpret this effect as a result of desorption of hydrogen above a certain temperature. At the thickness range at which the out-of-plane magnetization appears, an abnormally large longitudinal signal is detected. This is due to the contribution of the polar component to the longitudinal MOKE signal. With increasing Co coverage the polar signal disappears. The magnetization vector rotates towards the film plane, showing an increasing longitudinal component to the total Kerr signal. Also annealing supports the out-of-plane magnetization of the Co/Pd(110) system. However, in this case the magnetic anisotropy of the system is irreversibly changed due to the structural changes experienced by the sample during annealing.