Finite electric field effects in the large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy surface Pt/Fe/Pt(001): a first-principles study

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Jun 19;102(24):247203. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.247203. Epub 2009 Jun 18.

Abstract

We investigate crystalline magnetic anisotropy in the electric field (EF) for the FePt surface which has a large perpendicular anisotropy, by means of the first-principles approach. Anisotropy is reduced linearly with respect to the inward EF, associated with the induced spin density around the Fe layer. Although the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) density reveals large variation around the atoms, the intrinsic contribution to the MAE is found to mainly come from the Fe layer. The surface without the capping Pt layer also shows similar linear dependence.