The temperature-dependent magnetic properties of thick Gd(0001)/W(110)
films were investigated with respect to the annealing temperature as
well as the film thickness (d = 10-100 nm). After annealing to suffici
ently high temperatures, thick films (d greater-than-or-equal-to 40 nm
) show evidence for a canted magnetization, accompanied by a strong an
omaly of the coercive field just below the Curie temperature T(C). The
se effects can be attributed to the temperature-dependent magnetic ani
sotropy of bulk Gd. For thinner films, the magnetization behavior impl
ies the existence of residual strain, which cannot be fully annealed b
y thermal treatment. The implications of our experimental results for
surface magnetic order are discussed.