Canted magnetization in Fe thin films on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

Wen Chin Lin*, Fang Yuh Lo, Ya Yun Huang, Chih Hsiung Wang, Ming Yau Chern

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Because of the unique properties of graphene, the combination of perpendicular magnetized materials and a carbon-based template is especially useful. This study examines the effect of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface defects on Fe thin films. Numerous Fe thin films were grown on planar HOPG (p-HOPG) and Ar+ sputtered HOPG (s-HOPG), for comparison. X-ray diffraction showed the preferred (110) texture for Fe films on both p-HOPG and s-HOPG. Fe/p-HOPG exhibited only in-plane magnetization. In contrast, Fe/s-HOPG exhibited the coexistence of in-plane and perpendicular magneto-optical Kerr effect hysteresis loops, indicating a stable, canted magnetization. The canted magnetization of Fe/s-HOPG persisted to at least 20 atomic monolayers and might be attributed to a volume-contributed perpendicular anisotropy. These observations are relevant to a combination of ferromagnetic thin films and graphene-related templates.

Original languageEnglish
Article number083911
JournalJournal of Applied Physics
Volume110
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011 Oct 15

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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