Magnetization reversal in ultrathin films with monolayer-scale surface roughness

被引:45
作者
Moschel, A
Hyman, RA
Zangwill, A
Stiles, MD
机构
[1] GEORGIA INST TECHNOL,SCH PHYS,ATLANTA,GA 30332
[2] NATL INST STAND & TECHNOL,ELECTRON PHYS GRP,GAITHERSBURG,MD 20899
关键词
D O I
10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.3653
中图分类号
O4 [物理学];
学科分类号
0702 ;
摘要
The intrinsic anisotropy of nominally flat, ultrathin ferromagnetic films typically is augmented by a uniaxial anisotropy at step edges. We report model calculations of hysteresis for such systems with inplane magnetization and monolayer-scale roughness. The reversal process: is,a combination of domain nucleation at step edges, expansion of these domains through morphological constrictions, and coherent rotation within domains. The initiation of reversal at well separated step edges can explain the very small coercive fields measured for real ultrathin magnetic films.
引用
收藏
页码:3653 / 3656
页数:4
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