Localized Kerr study of the magnetic properties of an ultrathin epitaxial Co wedge grown on Pt(111)

Abstract

We have used the magneto-optical Kerr effect to study the thickness dependence of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, coercivity, nucleation field and remanence in an ultrathin Co wedge (0–9 monolayers) grown epitaxially on Pt(111) and capped by a thin Pt overlayer. In addition, the spin-reversal mechanism in the Co layers has been investigated using Kerr domain imaging. The sample showed perpendicular magnetization up to an extrapolated Co thickness of 15 monolayers (ML), with derived volume and interface anisotropy constants of −0.77 MJ/m3 and 1.15 mJ/m2, respectively. The Kerr rotation and Kerr ellipticity demonstrated linear dependences on the Co thickness (tCo), with sizeable extrapolated offsets at tCo=0, attributed to polarization of the Pt by the Co. The coercivity (Hc) and nucleation field both rose to peak values at tCo=1.5 ML, with a subsequent monotonic fall-off for higher Co thicknesses. In the case of Hc, this fall-off did not demonstrate the tCo−5/2 dependence shown by a similar Pd(111)/Co/Pd sample investigated earlier.