Effect Of Interface Roughness On The Magnetic Anisotropy In Epitaxial Fe Films

We have grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) 300 angstrom Fe films on single crystal MgO(001) substrates with Ag buffer layer with a thickness varying from 0 to 150 angstrom. The epitaxial growth and structure quality of the films were verified by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and X-ray diffraction. Small angle X-ray diffraction revealed the dependence of interfacial roughness on the thickness of Ag buffer layer. In-plane magnetic anisotropy was determined by means of magneto-optic Kerr effect at room temperature. The analysis of hysteresis loops showed a dependence of uniaxial anisotropy field H-u and coercive fields on the Ag buffer layer.