Extremely surface-sensitive hysteresis loop measurement with a spin-polarized metastable helium atom beam

摘要

The sample current induced by the deexcitation of He-* atoms on a ferromagnetic surface was found to depend on the He-* spin direction. This spin dependence was used for measuring the hysteresis loop of an Fe film on Cu(100). The hysteresis loop is extremely surface specific because the spin dependence is due to the electron emission via the He-* deexcitation that occurs on the vacuum side of the topmost surface layer. The hysteresis loop for a 2.2 ML Fe film on Cu(100) has been found to agree well with that measured with the surface magneto-optic Kerr effect. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.