BRILLOUIN LIGHT-SCATTERING-STUDIES OF MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY IN EPITAXIAL FE GAAS FILMS/

Citation
Rj. Hicken et al., BRILLOUIN LIGHT-SCATTERING-STUDIES OF MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY IN EPITAXIAL FE GAAS FILMS/, Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials, 145(3), 1995, pp. 278-292
Citations number
44
Categorie Soggetti
Material Science","Physics, Condensed Matter
ISSN journal
03048853
Volume
145
Issue
3
Year of publication
1995
Pages
278 - 292
Database
ISI
SICI code
0304-8853(1995)145:3<278:BLOMIE>2.0.ZU;2-R
Abstract
Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) measurements have been performed upon epitaxial Fe/GaAs(100) and Fe/GaAs(($) over bar 110) films with parti cular emphasis on Fe thicknesses less than 100 Angstrom. A continuum t heory that is required to describe the experimental data is presented. The values of the magnetic anisotropy fields measured by BLS agree we ll with those obtained from detailed Magneto Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE ) studies. An in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is observed in addition to the cubic anisotropy for both the (100) and (($) over bar 110) orienta tions. For Fe/GaAs(100), both the cubic anisotropy field and the effec tive demagnetizing field increase with film thickness while the uniaxi al anisotropy field decreases with film thickness. For Fe/GaAs(($) ove r bar 110) the uniaxial anisotropy field changes sign as the thickness is increased. In light of these findings we discuss how the Fe/GaAs i nterface may influence the values of the magnetization and anisotropy constants in the Fe films.