ISSN:
1432-0630
Keywords:
75.30G
;
75.30T
;
75.70
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract In order to study the magnetic anisotropy of transition metal ultrathin films, we have performed tight-binding calculations including spin-orbit coupling. Beside the anisotropy energy these calculations also yield the orbital moment, which turns out to be much more anisotropic than in bulk materials. The effects of interfacial mismatch and roughness are discussed within phenomenological models. We also briefly review experimental results on the magnetic surface anisotropy (MSA) in transition metal ultrathin films. In some cases such as Au/Co/Au(111) sandwiches the MSA wins the competition with the shape anisotropy arising from the magnetostatic energy: below a critical thickness this leads to aperpendicular spontaneous magnetization. We show the effects of this crossover on the hysteresis loops and on the magnetoresistance, and the effects of interface roughness on the critical thickness.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00617016
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