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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Light-Induced In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy for Observation of the Liquid-Soft Matter Interaction
Published on: July 26, 2022
Observation of surface step bunch induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy using spin-polarized low energy electron
MacCallum Robertson1, Yizheng Wu2, Andreas K Schmid3
1Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States.
Abstract:
Using spin-polarized low energy electron microscopy (SPLEEM), we observed surface step bunch induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Fe/Ni bilayers grown on Cu(001) single crystal as well as in Ni/Co/Pd trilayers grown on W(110) crystal. On Cu(100) the formation of step bunches can be stimulated or suppressed by high- or low-temperature annealing cycles, respectively. SPLEEM images resolving the three dimensional magnetization vector in the Fe/Ni films grown on step bunched Cu(100) reveal an additional perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in regions near step bunches. In contrast, no extra perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is observed on low-temperature annealed Cu(100) featuring single-atom height step arrays. Additional investigation of Ni/Co/Pd trilayers on W(110) reveals the influence of step bunch orientation on magnetic anisotropy. Our observations may lead to opportunities for tailoring or patterning anisotropy in magnetic thin-films by controlling film morphology.
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