Phys. Rev. Lett. Phys. Rev. A Phys. Rev. B Phys. Rev. C Phys. Rev. D Phys. Rev. E Phys. Rev. ST AB Rev. Mod. Phys. Phys. Rev. (Series I) Phys. Rev. Volume: Page/Article:

Phys. Rev. B 38, 10434–10439 (1988)

[Issue 15 – 15 November 1988 ]

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Magnetic properties of the (100) surface of Fe

H. C. Siegmann and P. S. Bagus

IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California 95120-6099

Hysteresis loops taken at a surface are often found to change even when the probing depth of the magnetic measurement varies by only a few lattice spacings. We report an interpretation of these changes in the framework of a simple model which assumes that only one sheet of thickness d at the surface is magnetically different from the bulk. The model reproduces the experimental hysteresis loops with a variety of materials. One obtains the magnetic anisotropy K_s of the surface and the exchange stiffness A₁,2 along a path perpendicular to the surface. For Fe(100), K_s and A₁,2 are found to be very small; furthermore, the average easy direction of the surface magnetization is at approximately 75° to the one in the bulk.

©1988 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v38/p10434
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.38.10434
PACS: 75.30.Pd, 75.60.Ej, 79.20.Hx

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