Magnetic anisotropies of ultrathin Co films on Cu(1 1 13) substrates

Abstract

All magnetic anisotropy contributions in single-crystalline (1 1 13)-oriented Co films on Cu were determined at room temperature using Brillouin light scattering. An in-plane uniaxial anisotropy contribution, not found in the reference system Co/Cu(001), is identified as magnetoelastic in origin. From the thickness dependence of the in-plane anisotropies of both twofold and fourfold symmetry about the film normal it is concluded that elastic strain fields are very likely to provide the driving mechanism for stabilizing ferromagnetic order in ultrathin Co(1 1 13) films.