SURFACE MAGNETIZATION PROCESSES INVESTIGATED BY THE COMBINED SURFACE MAGNETOOPTICAL KERR EFFECTS IN FE CU(100) THIN-FILMS/

Surface and ultrathin-film anisotropies in epitaxial fcc Fe thin films grown on room temperature Cu(100) single crystals in an ultrahigh vac uum has been investigated, in situ, by the combined surface magneto-op tical Kerr effects (SMOKE). When the applied field is perpendicular to the film surface, rotation processes occurring between out-of-plane a nd in-plane directions suggest the presence of an induced uniaxial (ca nted) anisotropy directed out of the plane of the film. This hypothesi s is tested with a simple coherent rotation model.