Ferromagnetic-resonance studies of epitaxial Ni, Co, and Fe films grown on Cu(100)/Si(100)

Abstract

Epitaxial films of Ni, Co, and Fe of thickness (10--500 \AA{}) have been studied on Cu(100) seed layers grown at room temperature on Si(100) substrates freshly etched in a hydrofluoric acid solution. X-ray diffraction and reflection high-energy electron-diffraction measurements confirm the epitaxial growth of Ni and Co on Cu(100) with a fcc(100) structure, whereas Fe grows with a bcc(110) Pitsch orientation relationship. Ferromagnetic-resonance measurements have been used to study the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic anisotropies of these films. Experimental data were fitted by using energy-density expressions that include uniaxial perpendicular anisotropy and bulk cubic anisotropy terms. Ni films with thicknesses 100 \AA{} show strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which is attributed to a tetragonal deformation of the Ni lattice.