Scanning tunneling microscopy/magnetic force microscopy study of ultrathin Fe film on MgO(001) in ultrahigh vacuum

摘要

Using ultrahigh vacuum high resolution scanning probe microscopy, we investigated the growth and magnetic properties of epitaxial Fe films grown on MgO(OOl) at different substrate deposition temperatures. On room temperature substrates, Fe forms interconnected grains and for 14 nm films produce very large magnetic domains. The domain walls are comprised of a rich variety of Neel, Bloch, and cross ties with interesting characteristics. On high temperature substrates, Fe grows by pyramidal island formation, with well-defined single atomic step terraces. The magnetic properties are dependent on the film thickness, which determines the amount of exchange coupling between the islands. The magnetic structure varies from complex patterns at low coverage to well ordered magnetic ripples and domain walls at higher coverage. The detailed explanation will be shown in this paper.