Measuring the magnetization of three monolayer thick Co islands and films by x-ray dichroism

作者：Mascaraque A^*; Aballe L; Marco J F; Mentes T O; El Gabaly F; Klein C; Schmid A K; McCarty K F; Locatelli A; de la Figuera J

来源：Physical Review B, 2009, 80(17): 172401.

DOI：10.1103/PhysRevB.80.172401

• cobalt
• magnetic circular dichroism
• magnetic domains
• magnetic moments
• magnetic thin films
• magnetisation
• nanostructured materials
• ruthenium
• spin dynamics
• X-ray absorption spectra
• X-ray photoelectron spectra

Co islands and films are characterized by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy. The spatial resolution capabilities of the technique together with atomic growth control permit obtaining perfectly flat triangular islands with a given thickness (3 ML), very close to an abrupt spin-reorientation transition. The magnetic domain configurations are found to depend on island size: while small islands can be magnetized in a single-domain state, larger islands show more complex patterns. Furthermore, the magnetization pattern of the larger islands presents a common chirality. By means of dichroic spectromicroscopy at the Co L absorption edges, an experimental estimate of the ratio of the spin and orbital magnetic moment for three monolayer thick films is obtained.

• 出版日期2009-11