Effect of surface morphology on magnetization dynamics of cobalt ultrathin films

TL;DR

This study investigates how surface roughness influences the growth, magnetic phase transitions, and anisotropy in ultrathin cobalt films on SiO2 substrates, revealing the effects of morphology on magnetization dynamics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the relationship between surface morphology and magnetic properties in ultrathin Co films, including the role of substrate roughness and surface patterning.

Findings

Co films grow via Volmer-Weber process with phase transitions from superparamagnetic to ferromagnetic.

Ferromagnetic ordering appears immediately after island coalescence.

Surface roughness and ripple patterns affect magnetic anisotropy and domain wall pinning.

Abstract

Growth of Co film on SiO2 substrates with the surface roughness of 0.5 nm and 1.6 nm has been studied in situ using the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and four probe resistivity measurements. In-situ measurements jointly suggest the Volmer-Weber growth process and proceed via a nonmagnetic, superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic phase formation on both substrates. Islands are found to coalesce at film thicknesses of 0.6 nm and at 1.5 nm with continuous film formation around film thicknesses of 1.5 nm and 3.0 nm for smooth and rough substrates, respectively. Ferromagnetic long-range ordering i.e., the appearance of a magnetic hysteresis loop in both films, is observed just after coalescing stage. Observed azimuthal angular dependence of coercivity confirmed the presence of a weak uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in both films, whereas the difference in uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with substrate roughness is interpreted in terms of the combined effect of domain wall pinning and internal stresses in the films. The origin of much higher UMA in the case of the Co film deposited on a ripple-patterned substrate of similar root means square roughness is attributed to the modified long-range dipolar stray fields on the surface.