Antiferromagnetic order with atomic layer resolution in EuTe(111) films

Phys Rev Lett. 2008 Dec 31;101(26):267202. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.267202.

Abstract

The temperature dependences of the magnetizations of individual atomic layers across an epitaxial antiferromagnetic EuTe film were derived from virtually background-free magnetic Bragg peaks with pronounced Laue oscillations recorded with soft x rays at the Eu-M5 resonance. The magnetizations of the outermost layers decrease significantly differently from those of bulk layers, in agreement with Heisenberg-Monte Carlo calculations. The results demonstrate the applicability of the method to complex ordering phenomena at surfaces and interfaces of thin films.