Magnetic Moment of fcc Fe(111) Ultrathin Films by Ultrafast Deposition on Cu(111)

Abstract

Thermally deposited ultrathin Fe films on Cu(111) at room temperature or below have been known to grow in a multilayer mode with a low net magnetic moment $(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sim}}0.5{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B})$. In the present work we have used pulsed laser deposition to produce isotropic $\mathrm{fcc}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}\mathrm{Fe}/\mathrm{Cu}(111)$ films which grow layer by layer with a magnetic moment of more than $2{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$. We attribute the larger magnetic moment of the pulsed laser deposited films to their structural perfection as seen by low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy.