Magnetic anisotropies in ultrathin iron films grown on the surface-reconstructed GaAs substrate

Abstract

Magnetic anisotropies of epitaxial ultrathin iron films grown on the surface-reconstructed GaAs substrate were studied. Ferromagnetic resonance technique was exploited to determine magnetic parameters of the films in the temperature range of 4-300 K. Extraordinary angular dependence of the FMR spectra was explained by the presence of fourfold and twofold in-plane anisotropies. A strong in-plane uniaxial anisotropy with magnetic hard axis along the [1 (1) over bar0] crystallographic direction is present at the GaAs/Fe(001) interface while a weak in-plane uniaxial anisotropy for the Fe grown on Au has its easy axis oriented along [1 (1) over bar0]. A linear dependence of the magnetic anisotropies as a function of temperature suggests that the strength of the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is affected by the magnetoelastic anisotropies and differential thermal expansion of contacting materials. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.