Magnetic reconstruction of the Gd(0001) surface

Abstract

The surface magnetism of Gd(0001) films is studied using spin resolved electron spectroscopies. Both a canted surface magnetization vector out of the plane of the film and an enhanced surface magnetic ordering temperature 60\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 K higher than the bulk Curie temperature are observed. Our results show that the surface magnetic layer behaves as a separate entity from the bulk. The in-plane component of surface magnetization aligns ferromagnetically to the bulk. Spin resolved photoemission from the Gd 4f core levels shows \ensuremath{\approxeq}65% spin polarization at 150 K, which extrapolates to \ensuremath{\approxeq}91% at 0 K.