GROWTH TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE OF THE MAGNETIC AND STRUCTURAL-PROPERTIES OF EPITAXIAL FE LAYERS ON MGO(001)

We have studied the growth and magnetic properties of molecular beam e pitaxy grown layers of bcc Fe(001) on MgO(001) substrates at a wide ra nge of temperatures. For growth temperatures in the range 80-595 K, th e iron forms islands which increase in lateral size with increasing te mperature. Completed films in the same temperature range show the magn etic properties expected for a system with biaxial anisotropy, and a c oercivity of < 10 Oe. The value of the first cubic anisotropy constant divided by the magnetization (K-1/M) remained constant. No evidence f or uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the films was found. Above 595 K, t he films' structure and magnetic properties changed dramatically to th ose characteristic of a particulate system. (C) 1998 American Institut e of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)06315-4].