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Use of Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect Measurements to Study Strain and Misfit Accommodation in Thin Films of Ni/Cu (100)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

H.E. Inglefield
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
C.A. Ballentine
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
G. Bochi
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
S.S. Bogomolov
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
R.C. O'Handley
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
C.V. Thompson
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
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Abstract

We have detected magnetic transitions in Ni/Cu (100) films as a function of Ni thickness through in situ measurements of the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE). Crystalline quality was monitored using in situ RHEED and Auger electron spectroscopy. Films were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on silicon wafers and cleaved sodium chloride with varying epitaxial Ni layer thicknesses between 10 and 200 A. High-resolution TEM images of these films indicate decreasing misfit dislocation spacing and decreasing strain as measured by moiré fringe analysis with increasing Ni thickness. These observations have been correlated with changes in magnetic anisotropy as measured by MOKE. MOKE, therefore, may provide a tool for in situ monitoring of the kinetics of misfit accommodation in magnetic thin films.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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References

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