Surface morphology and magnetic anisotropy of Fe/MgO(001) films deposited at oblique incidence

TL;DR

This study investigates how oblique angle deposition affects the surface morphology and magnetic anisotropy of Fe/MgO(001) films, revealing that deposition angle and azimuth influence grain shape, roughness, and magnetic properties.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the relationship between oblique deposition parameters and resulting surface and magnetic characteristics of Fe/MgO films.

Findings

Elongated grains form at large deposition angles due to shadowing.

Surface roughness varies with azimuthal direction during oblique deposition.

Magnetic anisotropy and hysteresis behavior depend on deposition angle and azimuth.

Abstract

We have studied surface morphology and magnetic properties of Fe/MgO(001) films deposited at an angle varying between 0o and 60o with respect to the surface normal and with azimuth along the Fe[010] or the Fe[110] direction. Due to shadowing, elongated grains appear on the film surface for deposition at sufficiently large angle. X-ray reflectivity reveals that, depending on the azimuthal direction, films become either rougher or smoother for oblique deposition. For deposition along Fe[010] the pronounced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (UMA) results in the occurrence of reversed two-step and of three-step hysteresis loops. For deposition along Fe[110] the growth-induced UMA is much weaker, causing a small rotation of the easy axes.