ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
Magneto-optical (MO) polar Kerr rotation and ellipticity (PKR and PKE, respectively) of Co rich Au(111)/Co(0001) multilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(110) substrates are reported. The individual layer thicknesses, tAu and tCo were tAu/tCo=2.6/3.2, 1.0/1.5, and 0.65/0.8 nm. The samples displayed perpendicular magnetic anisotropy smaller than demagnetization energy. PKR and PKE were measured at photon energies between 1.5 and 5.2 eV. In the multilayer with tCo=1.5 nm, PKR at 3.1 eV reached a value of −0.34°, remarkably higher than that reported on Au rich multilayers. The spectra were compared with theory. A satisfactory agreement was obtained only for the sample with the largest bilayer thickness, tAu+tCo=5.8 nm. This indicates that when tAu and tCo are reduced to a few atomic monolayers the role of interfaces is increased. The effects of strain, defects, and atomic mixing at Au-Co interfaces become more important. Both the magnetic and optical properties are modified.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.356829
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