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Magnetization Reversal in Ultrathin Films with Monolayer-Scale Surface Roughness

Published

Author(s)

A Moschel, A Zangwill, R Hyman, Mark D. Stiles

Abstract

The intrinsic anisotropy of nominally flat, ultrathin ferromagnetic films typically is augmented by a uniaxial anisotropy at step edges. We report model calculations of hysteresis for such systems with in-plane magnetization and monolayer scale roughness. The reversal process is a combination of domain nucleation at step edges, expansion of these domains through morphological constrictions, and coherent rotation within domains. The initiation of reversal at well-separated step edges can explain the very small coercive fields measured for real ultrathin magnetic films.
Citation
Physical Review Letters
Volume
77
Issue
17

Citation

Moschel, A. , Zangwill, A. , Hyman, R. and Stiles, M. (1996), Magnetization Reversal in Ultrathin Films with Monolayer-Scale Surface Roughness, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=620472 (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created December 31, 1995, Updated October 12, 2021