AVS 49th International Symposium
    Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures Tuesday Sessions
       Session MI-TuP

Paper MI-TuP4
Investigations on the Peculiar Magneto-optical and Magnetic Properties of Au-Fe Alloy Films and Au/Fe Multilayered Films

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B2

Session: Aspects of Magnetism
Presenter: K.W. Kim, Sunmoon University, Korea
Authors: K.W. Kim, Sunmoon University, Korea
R. Gontarz, Institute of Molecular Physics, Poland
Y.V. Kudryavtsev, Institute of Metal Physics, Ukraine
Y.P. Lee, Hanyang University, Korea
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In this study, the peculiar magneto-optical (MO) and magnetic properties of Fe-Au alloy films and Au/Fe multilayered films (MLF) were investigated. (3.0 nm Fe / t@sub Au@)@sub 20@ MLF (where / t@sub Au@= 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 nm) were prepared by rf-sputtering onto glass substrates with a Au buffer layer of 20 nm in thickness. We also prepared Au, Fe and Au@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ (0 < x < 1) films of about 100 - 150 nm in thickness by face-to-face sputtering onto a glass substrate at room temperature (RT). The structures of Au/Fe MLF and Au-Fe alloy films were analyzed by using the low- and high-angle x-ray diffraction (XRD). The MO equatorial Kerr effect and optical properties of the samples were measured at RT in a spectral range of 248 - 1130 nm (5.0 - 1.1 eV) and 235 - 2500 nm (5.3 - 0.5 eV), respectively. To understand the magnetic properties of Au@sub 1-x@Fe@sub x@ alloy films more quantitatively, the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) measurement was performed at 2B1 beamline of Pohang Light Source (Pohang, Korea). It was elucidated that alloy-like regions are spontaneously formed near the interfaces between Au and Fe sublayers during the Au/Fe MLF fabrication. The MCD results reveal that the orbital magnetic moment of the constituent Fe atoms in the bcc Fe-Au alloy film is about twice larger than that of pure Fe, which implies a hybridization between Fe and Au atoms. It is thought that the prominent feature observed in the UV range of the MO response of Au/Fe MLF results not from the quantum confinement, but probably from an enhanced magnetic moment of Fe (and/or an induced magnetic moment of Au).