Spin-dependent scattering in magnetic films, using SPLEED

Spin-polarized low energy electron diffraction (SPLEED) has been used to st udy spin-dependent scattering from the interfaces of a 2 ML Fe/W(1 1 0) fil m at incident electron energies from 30 to 90 eV. The scattering geometry a llows an exact separation of the polarization due to exchange and spin-orbi t interactions. The experiments reveal peak values of polarization up to 40 % for specific scattering conditions, and root-mean-square polarizations fo r 4-6% for each mechanism. The magnitude of the spin-orbit polarization is correlated with that produced by the W(1 1 0) substrate alone, the magnitud e of the exchange polarization increases with film thickness. (C) 1999 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.