STRUCTURE INDUCED MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY BEHAVIOR IN CO/GAAS(001) FILMS

Conference item

Epitaxial Co has been grown on GaAs(001) and studied by both low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), and by the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) and polarized neutron reflection (PNR). Three samples were fabricated using different growth procedures: (1) "interrupted" growth (including an anneal); (2) and (3) continuous growth of similar thicknesses. For sample 1, RHEED patterns indicate an initial growth in the bcc phase followed by a relaxation into a distorted single phase at completion of growth, whereas samples 2 and 3 showed a multicrystalline structure after growth. LEED patterns were used to check the existence of the 2×4 reconstruction patterns before growth, but no LEED patterns could be obtained after more than 2 Å Co was deposited, in contrast to the RHEED patterns which remained visible throughout the growth. Structural analysis of the completed films indicates the formation of a ∼10 Å CoO layer on the Co/air interface, and gives thicknesses for magnetic material of (1) 30 Å and (2) 80 Å. Sample 1 showed a dominant fourfold magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis parallel to the (100) direction and with a strength 2K 4/M of ∼0.5 kOe, smaller in magnitude than that reported for bcc films on GaAs(110) but along the same axis [G. A. Prinz et al., J. Appl. Phys. 57, 3672 (1985)]. However, samples 2 and 3 showed only a large uniaxial anisotropy along the (110) direction of strength 2K 1/M of ∼1.5 kOe and ∼2.5 kOe, respectively, similar in magnitude to those previously observed [G. A. Prinz et al., J. Appl. Phys. 57, 3676 (1985)]. We attribute the origin of the contrasting magnetic anisotropy behavior observed to the differences in final structure.

Authors: Blundell, S; Gester, M; Bland, J; Daboo, C; Gu, E

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
• Volume: 73
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 5948-5950
• Publication date: 1993-05-15
• Event title: 37TH ANNUAL CONF ON MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
• DOI: 10.1063/1.353531
• ISSN: 0021-8979
• Keywords: Growth; MOLECULAR-BEAM EPITAXY; GAAS; BCC CO