Surface morphology and magnetic anisotropy of obliquely deposited Co/Si(111) films

We report an investigation on magnetic anisotropy of Co/Si(111) films deposited at oblique incidence. An in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) with the easy axis perpendicular to the incident flux plane was observed to superimpose on sixfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Co films. We built a total energy model to investigate the magnetization reversal mechanism around hard axis. The simulated value of UMA is K(u) = 1.7 X 10(5) erg/cm(3), which is consistent with K(shape) = 1.1 X 10(5) erg/cm(3) calculated from scanning tunneling microscope image. This good agreement suggests the in-plane UMA is mainly originated from the shape of the oblique deposited Co stripes. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3463458]