Morphology-Induced Oscillations of the Magnetic Anisotropy in Ultrathin Co Films

Abstract

The magnetic anisotropy in Co films epitaxially grown on Cu(100) is found to oscillate as a function of the Co thickness. The oscillation period corresponds to one monolayer, as revealed by measuring magneto-optical Kerr hysteresis loops during film growth. These oscillations are attributed to the periodic variations of the film morphology alternating between filled and incompletely filled atomic layers.