Effect of interface roughness on the magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial Fe films

Abstract

We have grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) 300 Å Fe films on single crystal MgO(001) substrates with Ag buffer layer with a thickness varying from 0 to 150 Å. The epitaxial growth and structure quality of the films were verified by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and X-ray diffraction. Small angle X-ray diffraction revealed the dependence of interfacial roughness on the thickness of Ag buffer layer. In-plane magnetic anisotropy was determined by means of magneto-optic Kerr effect at room temperature. The analysis of hysteresis loops showed a dependence of uniaxial anisotropy field H u and coercive fields on the Ag buffer layer.