STRUCTURE AND PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIZATION OF FE NI(111) BILAYERS ON W(110)/

Scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction show that high quality fcc Ni(111) films can be prepared on W(110). The su bsequent coverage of this Ni template by monolayers of Fe leads to a F e/Ni bilayer with striking magnetic properties. The Fe cap layer induc es a spin reorientation of the easy axis of magnetization from in-plan e to perpendicular to the film, as checked with the magneto-optic Kerr effect. At higher Fe coverages, an in-plane magnetization of the bila yer is found, which is proposed to be caused by the fcc to bcc transit ion in the Fe layer. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.