Controlling in‐plane magnetic anisotropy of Co films on MgO substrates using glancing angle deposition

DOI: 10.1002/pssa.202300010

Authors: Andreas Frisk (Diamond Light Source) , Barat Achinuq (University of Oxford) , David G. Newman (University of Exeter) , Emily Heppell (University of Oxford) , Maciej Dabrowski (University of Exeter) , Robert J. Hicken (University of Exeter) , Gerrit Van Der Laan (Diamond Light Source) , Thorsten Hesjedal (University of Oxford)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Physica Status Solidi (a)

State: Published (Approved)
Published: March 2023
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 23285

Abstract: The ability to control the in-plane magnetic anisotropy of a thin film is important for magnetic device applications. One way of accomplishing this task is by glancing angle deposition (GLAD). In this study, thin Co layers have been deposited using GLAD magnetron sputtering on MgO(001) and MgO(110) substrates. For Co films on MgO(001), the in-plane anisotropy direction can be directly controlled via the deposition angle. In contrast, for Co on MgO(110), the anisotropy due to the deposition angle is competing with the anisotropy induced by the substrate, while the growth parameters determine which contribution dominates. On the other hand, while on MgO(001) the deposition angle as well as the film thickness affect the strength of the Co in-plane anisotropy, no influence of these parameters on the magnetic properties is found for films on MgO(110).

Journal Keywords: magnetic anisotropy; magnetron sputtering; glancing angle deposition; Co thin films; MgO substrate

Subject Areas: Materials, Physics

Diamond Offline Facilities: Electron Physical Sciences Imaging Centre (ePSIC)
Instruments: E02-JEM ARM 300CF

Other Facilities: Materials Characterisation Laboratory at ISIS

Added On: 06/03/2023 08:28

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Physics Magnetism Materials Science interfaces and thin films

Technical Tags:

Microscopy Electron Microscopy (EM) Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)