Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and magnetooptical Kerr effect in Fe/Au(001) superlattices: comparison between monocrystalline and polycrystalline samples

Polycrystalline Fe/Au superlattices were prepared by monatomic layer contro l on quartz glass substrates with Mao underlayers having a (001) texture, a nd their structural and magnetic properties have been compared with those f or monocrystalline samples grown on MgO(001) single-crystal substrates. X-r ay analysis have shown that the interface roughness and/or the disorder of superlattice structure in polycrystalline samples are larger than those in monocrystalline samples. It has been found that the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is very sensitive to the interface morphology, while the magnitu de of the Fe moment and the magnetooptical Kerr spectra are not seriously i nfluenced by the interface morphology. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.