Scaling properties of spin-reorientation transitions in magnetic thin films with surface anisotropy

Spin-reorientation transitions in ultrathin magnetic films sandwiched by nonmagnetic films are clarified by means of the variational calculation on a micromagnetic discrete model. Scaling relations among the film thickness, exchange coupling, and magnetic anisotropies are revealed. It is shown numerically that the scaling behaviors should be observed experimentally in magnetic materials. The phase diagram with scaled variables for spin reorientation coincides with the one derived analytically by the continuum model. This coincidence implies the sufficiency of continuum modeling in the study of ultrathin magnetic films of several atomic layers.