THEORY OF MAGNETIC INTERFACE ANISOTROPY

Calculations show that the surprising ''orientation independence'' of the Co/Pd interface anisotropy found experimentally is an accidental c onsequence of the precise degree of strain exhibited by this system an d is not generally expected. The conclusions are supported by the good agreement between experiment and our electronic structure calculation s for the anisotropy magnitude, and by the close correlation with the results of a simple symmetry-based theory in which the effects of stra in are clear.