IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Friday Sessions
       Session MI+SS-FrM

Paper MI+SS-FrM11
Transverse Magneto-optical Kerr-effect in the Soft X-ray Regime at Iron and Cobalt Films on W(110)

Friday, November 2, 2001, 11:40 am, Room 110

Session: Magnetic Thin Films and Surfaces II
Presenter: J. Bansmann, University of Rostock, Germany
Authors: J. Bansmann, University of Rostock, Germany
V. Senz, University of Rostock, Germany
A. Kleibert, University of Rostock, Germany
Correspondent: Click to Email
Tunable soft X-ray radiation opens the possibility for investigating element-specifically the magnetic properties of thin films, islands, and nanoparticles on surfaces. Well-known techniques are magnetic dichroism in photoemission (MDAD) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism in photoabsorption (XMCD). However, magnetic phenomena can also be studied using the transverse Magneto-optical Kerr effect (T-MOKE) at the core levels of ferromagnetic materials using linearly polarized radiation. We will present new data using T-MOKE at iron and cobalt films and self-organized islands on W(110). For recording hysteresis curves an external electromagnet has been applied to the setup. Close to the core levels of e.g., iron and cobalt, the reflectivity and the Kerr rotation is strongly enhanced by resonant forward scattering. We could observe huge intensities in reflexion and intensity asymmetries of 50% at Fe and Co films of less than 6ML. The experimental results will be compared to recent calculations. When annealing Fe(110) films on W(110) a well oriented Fe island structure can be created. Our experimental data clearly show a rotation of the easy axis with respect to thin films which depends on the original coverage before annealing and on the temperature during thermal treatment. In the case of cobalt on W(110) we have investigated the magnetic properties of fcc- and hcp-cobalt films on clean and modified W(110) surfaces. Although the direction of the easy magnetization axis does not change using different cobalt structures, the remanent magnetization and coercive forces have clearly changed.