MBE GROWTH OF ARTIFICIALLY-LAYERED MAGNETIC-METAL STRUCTURES ON SEMICONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS

This review considers recent developments in MBE growth of artificiall y-layered magnetic-metal structures on both semiconductor and insulati ng substrates. It is seen that the ability to seed specific orientatio ns of such structures and to probe their structural and chemical prope rties with a variety of in situ probes is a key advantage of MBE over more conventional deposition techniques. In particular, interface form ation can be probed during growth. This is helpful in developing a rea listic picture of interfaces in such structures and in relating magnet ic properties to interface structural and chemical properties. Further more, the growth of epitaxial structures permits the detailed characte rization of atomic and interface structure with X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy.