Influence of atomic saw and residual strain on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Au/Co/Au sandwiches

We have grown Au/Co/Au trilayers on MgO substrates exhibiting perpendicular anisotropy. Then the samples were plastically compressed with the atomic s aw technique to cut the films in parallel stripes. The plastic deformation of the substrates caused a bending of the film, inducing compressive in-pla ne residual strain in the Co layers which tends to reduce the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. To confirm this position-dependent behavior, we have used for the first time polar Kerr effect with a focussed laser beam. (C) 1 999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.