Uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in Pd/Fe bilayers on Al 2O 3 (0001) induced by oblique deposition

Abstract

This study reports the preparation of self-organized 1-dimensional magnetic structures of Fe on Al 2O 3 (0001) by oblique deposition. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) results in this study show the preferred (110) texture of the Fe films. XRD and extended x-ray adsorption fine structure measurements indicate larger oblique deposition angle (65°) leads to more disorder in the Fe crystalline structure. After capping with a Pd overlayer, the Pd/Fe/Al 2O 3 (0001) still exhibits uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by the underlying 1-dimensional Fe nanostructure. This uniaxial magnetic anisotropy changes with the variation in Fe thickness and oblique deposition angle. These results clearly indicate the feasibility of manipulating uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and crystalline order through the oblique deposition of magnetic materials. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.