Effects of an Ag overlayer on the magnetic properties of ultrathin Co/Cu(1 1 1) films

J. S. Tsay*, J. Y. Lin, C. S. Yang, Y. D. Yao, Y. Liou

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The evolution of magnetic properties of ultrathin Co/Cu(111) films with Ag overlayer has been investigated using the surface magneto-optical Kerr effect. In general, the easy axis of the magnetization is in-plane for a Co/Cu(111) system. However, a small longitudinal coercive force (one order smaller than that in polar case) has been observed for films with Co thickness roughly between 1.5 and 10 monolayers. With an Ag overlayer on the top of films, the orientation of the easy axis does not change. Ag-induced oscillation of the polar coercive force shows that it is dominated by the complete or incomplete Ag atomic layers. The oscillation phenomenon decreases with increasing the thickness of the Co layer, from 2.3 to 4.6 ML.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1040-1044
Number of pages5
JournalSurface Science
Volume482-485
Issue numberPART 2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cobalt
  • Copper
  • Magnetic films
  • Magnetic measurements
  • Metal-metal magnetic thin film structures
  • Silver

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces and Interfaces
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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