Slant perpendicular magnetic anisotropy induced by steps in 4^o-miscut Si(111)/Cu/Au/Co/Au system

초록

It is well-known that Co layers a few monolayers (ML) thick have a strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and that the magnitude of anisotropy strongly depends on the deposition conditions. In order to study the effect of steps on the magnetic anisotropy, we investigated molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Au(2ML)/Co(5ML)/Au films on 4^o-miscut Si(111). From our analysis of the experimental data of magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and Brillouin light scattering (BLS) for various angles of in-plane external applied field we find that the easy axis orientation of the magnetic anisotropy is slanted from the film normal direction. Since we find no such slant magnetic anisotropy in the same films grown on non-miscut Si, we conclude that a slant magnetic anisotropy is induced by the substrate steps in 4^o-miscut Si(111).