Growth study of Co thin film on nanorippled Si(100) substrate

Abstract

The growth behavior of Co thin film on nanorippled Si(100) substrate has been studied. A clear anisotropy in the growth behavior along and normal to the ripples has been observed, resulting in preferential coalescence of islands normal to the ripple wave vector. A preferential orientation of c-axis along the ripple wave vector is observed, which may be a result of minimization of magnetoelastic and anisotropic energies in the presence of internal stresses.