Go to ScienceDirect® Home Skip Main Navigation Links Register or Login: Password: Home Search Browse Journals Browse Abstract Databases Browse Reference Works My Alerts My Profile Help (Opens new window) Quick Search: within Quick Search searches abstracts, titles, and keywords. Click for more information. 30 of 39 Result List Previous Next Thin Solid Films Volume 413, Issues 1-2 , 24 June 2002, Pages 212-217 This Document SummaryPlus Full Text + Links PDF (301 K) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Actions Cited By Save as Citation Alert E-mail Article Export Citation doi:10.1016/S0040-6090(02)00247-X How to cite or link using doi (opens new window) Cite or link using doi Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Correlation between structural and magnetic properties of thin FexCo1-x(1 1 0) films on sapphire J. SwertsCorresponding Author Contact Information <#m4.cor*>, E-mail The Corresponding Author , K. Temst, N. Vandamme, B. Opperdoes, C. Van Haesendonck and Y. Bruynseraede Laboratorium voor Vaste-Stoffysica en Magnetisme, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 D, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium Received 16 July 2001; revised 26 January 2002; accepted 28 February 2002. Available online 30 April 2002. Abstract Fe and Fe40Co60 thin films (5?60 nm) with a bcc structure have been prepared on a-axis oriented sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The structural properties have been characterized in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. A two-dimensional magneto-optical Kerr effect set-up has been used to determine the in-plane magnetization components and to investigate the magnetic anisotropy and the orientation dependence of the magnetization reversal process. The Fe films and Fe40Co60 alloy films both display a uniaxial in-plane anisotropy. They also exhibit a comparable increase of the coercive field along the easy axis with increasing thickness. We have evaluated this dependence using the results of the structural characterization, indicating that the enhancement of the coercive field is linked to the growing surface roughness and decreasing structural coherence. Author Keywords: Fe; FeCo alloys; Structural properties; Magnetic properties and measurements; Anisotropy Article Outline 1. Introduction 2. Experimental details 3. Structural characterization 3.1. X-ray diffraction 3.2. Atomic force microscopy 4. Magnetic characterization 4.1. Magnetic anisotropy 4.2. Magnetization reversal 5. Discussion 6. Conclusions Acknowledgements References Enlarge Image (10K) Fig. 1. XRD profiles for the Fe (upper curve) and Fe40Co60 (lower curve) films at (a) low angles and (b) high angles. The curves have been offset vertically for clarity. Enlarge Image (9K) Fig. 2. (a) Lattice constant for Fe and Fe40Co60 films vs. film thickness; (b) Perpendicular coherence length vs. film thickness for Fe and Fe40Co60 films. Enlarge Image (16K) Fig. 3. (a) AFM micrograph of the surface of a 5 nm Fe40Co60 film for an area of 500 nm by 500 nm. The black to white contrast is 3 nm; (b) evolution of the rms roughness as a function of sample thickness derived from the AFM measurements on the Fe40Co60 alloys on various length scales. Enlarge Image (15K) Fig. 4. Polar plot of the normalized in-plane remanent magnetization MR/MS for a 60 nm Fe thin film (&z.cirf;) and a 53 nm Fe40Co60 thin film (circle, open). Enlarge Image (13K) Fig. 5. Measurements of the in-plane transverse component of the magnetization of a 39 nm Fe film; (a) with the applied field along the easy axis; (b) perpendicular to the easy axis; and (c) 30° away from the easy axis. The insets of the graphs show the corresponding measurements of the parallel magnetization component. Enlarge Image (5K) Fig. 6. Coercive field vs. sample thickness with the magnetic field applied along the easy axis. Fe films (&z.cirf;) and Fe40Co60 films (circle, open). The dotted line is a guide for the eye. References 1. J. de Boeck and G. Borghs Phys. World (1999), p. 27. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document 2. R.C. Hall J. Appl. Phys. 31 (1960), p. 157S. 3. C.J. Gutierrez, J.J. Krebs and G.A. Prinz Appl. Phys. Lett. 61 (1992), p. 2476. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 4. Th. Mühge, Th. Zeidler, Q. Wang, Ch. Morawe, N. Metoki and H. Zabel J. Appl. Phys. 77 (1995), p. 1055. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 5. Yu.V. Goryunov, I.A. Garifullin, Th. Mühge and H. Zabel JETP 88 (1999), p. 377. OJPS full text | Full Text via CrossRef 6. J.H. Dunn, D. Arvanitis and N. Martensson J. Phys. IV 7 (1997), p. 383. 7. M. Maurer, J.C. Ousset, M.F. Ravet and M. Piecuch Europhys. Lett. 9 (1989), p. 803. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document 8. F. Scheurer, B. Carriere, J.P. Deville and E. Beaurepaire Surf. Sci. Lett. 245 (1991), p. 175. 9. T. Nishizawa and K. Ishida Bull. Alloy Phase Diagrams 5 (1984), p. 250. 10. A.D. Kent, U. Ruediger, J. Yu, S. Zhang, P.M. Levy, Y. Zhong and S.S.P. Parkin IEEE Trans. Magn. MAG-34 (1998), p. 900. Abstract-Compendex | Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document 11. B.M. Clemens, R. Osgood, A.P. Payne, B.M. Lairson, S. Brennan, R.L. White and W.D. Nix J. Magn. Magn. Mat. 121 (1993), p. 37. Abstract | Abstract + References | PDF (312 K) 12. N. Metoki, M. Hofelich, Th. Zeidler, T. Mühge, Ch. Morawe and H. Zabel J. Magn. Magn. Mat. 121 (1993), p. 137. Abstract | Abstract + References | PDF (229 K) 13. T. Mühge, A. Stierle, N. Metoki, H. Zabel and U. Pietsch Appl. Phys. A 59 (1994), p. 659. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document 14. W.C. Ellis and E.S. Greiner Trans. Am. Soc. Met. 29 (1941), p. 415. 15. Y.-L. He and G.-C. WangJ. Appl. Phys. 76 (1994), p. 6446. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 16. M. Li, Y.-P. Zhao, G.-C. Wang and H.-G. Min J. Appl. Phys. 83 (1998), p. 6287. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | OJPS full text | Full Text via CrossRef 17. J. Krim, I. Heyvaert, C. Van Haesendonck and Y. Bruynseraede Phys. Rev. Lett. 70 (1993), p. 57. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 18. K. Temst, M.J. Van Bael, B. Wuyts, C. Van Haesendonck, Y. Bruynseraede, D.G. de Groot, N. Koeman and R. Griessen Appl. Phys. Lett. 67 (1995), p. 3429. Abstract-INSPEC | Abstract-Compendex | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 19. C. Daboo, J.A.C. Bland, R.J. Hicken, A.J.R. Ives, M.J. Baird and M.J. Walker J. Appl. Phys. 73 (1993), p. 6368. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 20. C. Daboo, R.J. Hicken, E. Gu, M. Gester, S.J. Gray, D.E.P. Eley, E. Ahmad and J.A.C. Bland Phys. Rev. B 51 (1995), p. 15964. Abstract-INSPEC | $Order Document | Full Text via CrossRef 21. N. Metoki, Th. Zeidler, A. Stierle, K. Bröhl and H. Zabel J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 118 (1993), p. 57. Abstract | Abstract + References | PDF (638 K) Corresponding Author Contact Information <#m4.bcor*> Corresponding author. Tel.: +32-16-327195; fax: +32-16-327983; email: johan.swerts@fys.kuleuven.ac.be This Document SummaryPlus Full Text + Links PDF (301 K) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Actions Cited By Save as Citation Alert E-mail Article Export Citation Thin Solid Films Volume 413, Issues 1-2 , 24 June 2002 , Pages 212-217 30 of 39 Result List Previous Next Home Search Forms Browse Journals Browse Abstract Databases Browse Reference Works My Alerts My Profile Help (Opens new window) Send feedback to ScienceDirect Software and compilation © 2003 ScienceDirect. All rights reserved. ScienceDirect® is an Elsevier Science B.V. registered trademark. Your use of this service is governed by Terms and Conditions . Please review our Privacy Policy for details on how we protect information that you supply.