Brillouin light-scattering intensities for thin magnetic films with large perpendicular anisotropies

Abstract

The intensity of light scattered from thermal magnetic waves in thin magnetic films with large perpendicular uniaxial anisotropies was calculated. The anisotropies were large enough to pull the magnetization out of the sample plane. The intensity of light scattered from the surface magnetic mode in a 3.0-monolayer-thick fcc Fe film grown on Cu(001) was measured as a function of the applied in-plane dc magnetic field. The measured intensities were found to be in excellent agreement with those calculated using the magnetic parameters determined from the measured values of the surface-mode frequency. Both the frequency and intensity data indicated that the magnetization of the Fe film was oriented perpendicular to the sample plane in zero applied field.