Mapping the magnetic phase diagram of metastable fct Fe/Cu(100) using Co atoms

Abstract

In ultrathin Fe films grown at room temperature on Cu(100), observed thickness and temperature-dependent spin reorientations are preceded by structural transformations. We use a method involving Co capping atoms to generate a magnetic phase diagram for this system in the absence of these structural changes. The phase diagram shows that the recently observed stripe-phase melting in the Fe/Cu(100) system is related to the onset of a spin reorientation, rather than to a ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition. In addition, the phase diagram allows us to determine the temperature-dependent anisotropy constants for Fe/Cu(100) films.