Microscopic analysis of the composition driven spin-reorientation transition in Ni(x)Pd(1-x)/Cu(001)

Daniel M Gottlob; Hatice Doğanay; Florian Nickel; Stefan Cramm; Ingo P Krug; Slavomír Nemšák; Claus M Schneider

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2015.05.022

Microscopic analysis of the composition driven spin-reorientation transition in Ni(x)Pd(1-x)/Cu(001)

Ultramicroscopy. 2015 Dec:159 Pt 3:503-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2015.05.022. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

Authors

Daniel M Gottlob¹, Hatice Doğanay¹, Florian Nickel¹, Stefan Cramm¹, Ingo P Krug², Slavomír Nemšák¹, Claus M Schneider³

Affiliations

¹ Peter Grünberg Institut 6, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
² Peter Grünberg Institut 6, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
³ Peter Grünberg Institut 6, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Fakultät für Physik and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CeNIDE), Universität Duisburg-Essen, 47048 Duisburg, Germany.

PMID: 26092084
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2015.05.022

Abstract

The spin-reorientation transition (SRT) in epitaxial NixPd1-x/Cu(001) is studied by photoemission microscopy utilizing the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism effect at the Ni L2,3 edge. In a composition/thickness wedged geometry, a composition driven SRT could be observed between 37 ML and 60 ML, and 0 and 38% of Pd. Microspectroscopy in combination with azimuthal sample rotation confirms a magnetization preference changing from the [001] to an in-plane easy axis. At this increased thickness, the domain patterns arrange comparable to SRTs in ultrathin films. The images document domains equivalent to a canted state SRT, at which an additional effect of in-plane anisotropies could be identified.

Keywords: Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetism; Spin-reorientation transition; Thin films.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't