Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 50: Surface magnetism III

MA 50.1: Talk

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 11:00–11:15, HSZ 103

Spin reorientation related changes of the electronic structure in ultrathin Fe/Mo(110) films — •Torsten Methfessel and Hans-Joachim Elmers — Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Institut für Physik, Staudingerweg 7, D-55099 Mainz

The magnetic easy axis in ultrathin Fe/Mo(110) films changes from a perpendicular easy axis at low temperatures to an in-plane easy axis at hight temperatures at the transition point around 13 K. We investigated this spin reorientation (SRT) using spin-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Magnetic domain patterns remain stable near the SRT. We measured domain wall widths versus temperature resulting in a measurement for the temperature dependent anisotropy. The electronic structure of the mono (ML) and double layer (DL) Fe/Mo(110) shows a variation with the reorientation of the magnetic easy axis. The spin averaged tunneling conductivity of the DL Fe shows a distinct increase with rising temperature clearly below the transition temperature which can be attributed to a magnetization along a magnetic hard axis. The SRT of Fe/Mo(110) can be identified as a discontinuous reorientation transition, revealing two simultaneous minima of the free energy in a certain temperature range.