Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 46: Magnetic Thin Films I

MA 46.6: Talk

Thursday, March 19, 2015, 16:15–16:30, H 1012

Strain induced magneto-optical anisotropy in epitaxial hcp Co-films — •Jon Ander Arregi, Juan Bautista González-Díaz, Olatz Idigoras, and Andreas Berger — CIC nanoGUNE Consolider, Donostia San Sebastian, Spain

In nearly all magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) studies, it is assumed for the sake of simplicity that the strength of the magneto-optical coupling factor Q is independent from the magnetization orientation. This is generally understood to be a reasonable assumption for metallic systems, and very few experimental studies have observed only modest deviations from this assumption [1,2].

Here, we investigate the existence and origin of magneto-optical anisotropy in epitaxial hcp Co-films. By employing the generalized magneto-optical ellipsometry (GME) technique [3], we find that the amplitude of magneto-optical anisotropy is strongly correlated with the growth induced crystallographic strain, observing that this anisotropy is very much reduced upon structural relaxation towards the bulk for the thicker films. In addition, we find that the strain state variation produces a redistribution of the first- and second-order magnetic anisotropy fields, while the total saturation field of the films remains basically unaltered. The possibility to tune the magneto-optical anisotropy of the Co-films by engineering their strain state is briefly discussed.

[1] D. Weller et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2097 (1994)

[2] D. Schmidt et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 123109 (2013)

[3] J. A. Arregi et al., J. Appl. Phys. 111, 103912 (2012)